


The Year of Peaches and Cream

by Ash_Face_08



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Angels & Demons, Demon/Human Relationships, M/M, Witch Yamaguchi Tadashi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-11-09
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:29:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 25,566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27308479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ash_Face_08/pseuds/Ash_Face_08
Summary: When Lev Haiba becomes too much to handle, Kozume Kenma has gone to all ends to shut the Russian giant out of his life but in the process ends up introducing himself and Lev to new unexpected individuals that both never thought they existed.Morisuke Yaku is finished doing evil things to innocent people, but on the day he hands in his resignation letter to the boss in charge, all hell breaks loose as he is instructed that he has 356 days to kill an individual and harvest the soul.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou, Haiba Lev/Yaku Morisuke, Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio, Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru, Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou, Takeda Ittetsu/Ukai Keishin, Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi
Comments: 3
Kudos: 14





	1. March Winds

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you guys for clicking on this! It might be a little slow with school, but this behemoth chapter only took me a week or so with an hour or two of work after school. I thank you for the support and the time that you would give to this!! Happy Reading!!

_“I could never keep my excitement in that well. It was always an instinct and jerk of the knee decisions that kept me at the top of my high school volleyball career and got me the scholarship money to pay for school. I’ve always wanted to model, Alisa always said I could. My height along with my long limbs, not to mention the sickening green eyes, was enough to have modelling companies flocking to me. But instead, I wanted to be on the other side of the camera, guiding the models and tilting their heads perfectly to get the lighting to bounce off their cheekbones...Only if I could find the perfect model…” ~L. Haibia_

College was easy for Lev Haiba. Mondays were short, Tuesdays were early, Wednesdays were long, Thursdays were late, and Friday was non-existent. After being granted a sports scholarship to one of the best post-secondary schools in Tokyo, he was set for the rest of his schooling. Even though volleyball never worked out after high school: the first year he was playing for the college, he took a fall to his right knee and shattered it, resulting in months on crutches. The school had been nice enough to let him keep the scholarship as long as he promised to help here and there. 

That lasted two weeks, the helping thing, until he was asked very politely to stop coming to practice. His larger-than-life presence (and himself for that matter) made it hard to do the little tasks and he had only been a burden. Still, the school refused to take the money back, but that was fine by Lev. He had found his friends (a group of misfits and some friends through volleyball) and he had his schoolwork. He was set. Except for one thing. The blonde that worked at the coffee shop that was across the street from the indoor ice rink that Lev worked in. The small blonde always avoided him when he came in, averting his eyes to make a cup of coffee and left others to take the giant’s order.

 _There is just something about him_ , Lev thought to himself as he ascended the steps to the small shop before heading to work. Taking two at a time, he avoided the snow that the three o’clock sun avoided, scanning the room for the blonde that he had been thinking about all day as he walked in. It was Wednesday, meaning he was going to be at work for the next six hours, and he had six hours to stare at the frozen area and shiver. 

Lev always hated the harsh winds of March and the things it did in the ice rink. Even though the ashen-haired boy was half Russian, that didn’t mean that he was accustomed to the cold winters in Tokyo, where he had lived all his life. This meant that sitting in the ice rink on a long Wednesday night was the last thing he wanted to do with his time. 

Walking up to the counter, his eyes landed on the person he had been seeking out, clad in a white tee shirt and black jeans, an apron topping the ensemble off with the right amount of cafe hominess. “Kenma-san!!” He raised his voice slightly, making the blonde jump halfway out of the ozone, his eyes widening and looking up from his phone.

“L-Lev, hi.” Kenma, the blonde, replied wearily, like he always did. Lev had seen him around the campus, his nose in his Nintendo Switch or PSP. He never knew what the small boy was playing but he always assumed that it was interesting enough to keep someone’s attention for hours on end.

“How was class today? I was you in the computer hall, were you taking your coding class or was it your animation--”

“Lev, with all respect, can you just order and not press into my personal life?” Kenma asked, his hooded eyes sharpening, cutting Lev into a million pieces as he glared. Lev swallowed hard, looking at the small boy.

“Can I have a large black coffee? Completely straight black, preferably without spit in it.” Lev offered Kenma a cheeky grin as the blonde grumbled something and turned his back to him without even taking payment. Lev had been staring at Kenma’s back with his wallet in his hands until Kenma turned back around and smiled.

“It’s on the house today.” Kenma told him, a maniacal grin on his face. _Scary,_ Lev thought while slipping the usual cost, about five dollars and fifty cents, into the tip jar by the register. He didn’t know what Kenma was planning but he definitely didn’t want to be blamed for whatever it was. 

Lev pushed off the counter and went to the table closest to the door, looking across the street at the ice rink that would be his prison for the night. He tried to keep his thoughts level, but they kept drifting back to the assignment that Professor Takeda had given them.

_“You guys have been taking and editing pictures all semester, but I’m not seeing any personality in any of them!” Takeda-sensei, Lev’s Master Photography teacher, told the class, his eyes drifting over each student. Out of instinct, Lev looked at the table and fidgeted with his pen. His nervous instincts were kicking in, his sound thought of reverting back to his knee jerk reactions._

_“Haiba-san, may I ask you a question?” Takeda landed his eyes on Lev, making him squirm in his seat._

_“You just did, sir.” Lev jokes, knowing that he wasn’t going to get in trouble. A chuckle rippled through the classroom, soft and unnoticed, as Takeda soon laughed with them._

_“Then I’ll ask two. What is the most important thing in your life at the moment?”_

_Lev stopped. What was the most important thing in his life? Well, it was Wednesday, he thought, making it the longest day of my week. At this point, it would have to be--_

_“Coffee.” Lev responded, meeting Takeda’s gaze. Takeda smiled and nodded, making his way around the lecture hall and in front of Lev._

_“Now, what do you think of when you think of coffee?”_

_“Probably my work.”_

_“Oh, where do you work?”_

_“I work at the ice rink right outside of town. A little place and it’s nice, the only thing bad about it is that it stays open way too late.” Lev rambled._

_“Ah, I understand.” Takeda was short and sweet, pacing back down to where he was lecturing before. Lev knew that he probably had just gotten himself or the class into something that wasn’t going to be fun. “Haiba-san, when you think of coffee and work combined, what do you think of?” He asked._

_“The blonde boy that works at the coffee shop across the way.” He replied, causing the class to echo ‘ooo’ sounds. Lev felt his face heat up, but pushed down the feelings._

_“That’s what I wanted!’ Takeda stated, raising his voice above his usual tone. “I want you guys, for your next assignment, to go take pictures of someone who is important to you, and write up a small report on them, what makes them so special. And Haiba? I expect to see this blonde boy.”_

Lev drug a hand over his face, _Fuck,_ he thought, looking at Kenma’s back then out the window, _How am I going to ask him to do this. This is just...awkward._

Kenma snuck a glance at the boy sitting near the window, taking in his presence and meeting his eyes briefly. Lev was basking and stretched out in thought, staring across the street at the ice rink with the sun on his face. His long legs were stretched onto the other chair across the table, and since the shop was empty, he knew Kenma wouldn’t mind. He shifted, causing his overgrown bags to drop in front of his eyes. He looked like a cat lounging in the sun, just threatening someone to disturb him. Kenma set the pot he was brewing down, causing the clatter of metal against metal. Lev’s eyes shot up and were on Kenma in an instant. _Those damn green eyes,_ Kenma thought, dragging his gaze back over the black tar that Lev had always ordered. He never understood the boy and his weird coffee combinations. Straight black coffee, black and white coffee mixed, hot chocolate and instant coffee, he was an odd one.

Kenma stopped for a second, considering his threat to the tall boy earlier. He sighed, putting a few cubes of sugar into it, like he always did even though Lev always asked for straight black. The first time he ordered it, Lev had made the most disgusted face that made Kenma snicker. Even though he looked like it on the outside, Lev wasn’t bitter like him. 

“Lev, here.” Kenma muttered, setting the cup on the counter where he had ordered. Lev was over in an instant, a light blush setting on top of his cheekbones. Kenma looked up at him and quirked an eyebrow, making Lev go even more red.

“U-Uh, thanks. I appreciate it.” Lev said after a while of staring, picking up his cup and turning towards the door. He stopped instantly, turning back around to Kenma. “A-Actually I have a question and it’s kind of creepy and I feel super super bad for even having to ask it and--”

“Lev, just shut up and ask it.” Kenma grumbled, turning back towards the rows of coffee machines to clean the one he just used.

“Can I take some pictures of you?” Lev blurted out, making Kenma whip back around with the most horrified look.

“Why?” Kenma asked defensively, crossing his arms over his chest and scrunching his nose.

 _Cute,_ Lev thought quickly, soon to realize that he hadn’t answered Kenma back and was staring at him like a creep. “W-Well, it’s for school. I’m in a photography class and the teacher told us that he wanted to see someone important to us and-- I would’ve done my sister but she is over in Miyagi for work and it’s due next week and I don’t want to bother her at all and--”

“Lev, no. I’m just the coffee boy. I’m not important.” Kenma retorted, narrowing his eyes at the beanpole. He was scared that a confession was going to come out of his mouth any time now, since Lev was acting so weird when he got here.

“B-But...alright. Thank you for the coffee, Kenma.” Lev bowed politely, readjusting his school bag on his shoulder. He set his gaze down and walked out of the shop in silence, the bell ringing was the only sign that he had left. 

When he stepped into the sun, it warmed him instantly. The late March sun had been the one thing Lev has been waiting for since last November. Back then, it was cold, bitter and dark, creating an unsettling feeling for him. His seasonal depression had always hit hard when he moved to Tokyo from the outskirts of town, causing him to appreciate the burning ball of gas in the sky. Yamaguchi, a boy in his economics class, had always teased him about being too reliant on the sun, calling him a plant. 

Lev had hated when he earned nicknames that were weird, like the ones Yamaguchi always gave him. Once, he even called him Calvin after the Calvin Cycle, which confused and intrigued Lev so much that he had gone home to look up what the Calvin Cycle was. Much to Lev’s surprise, plants were actually a lot more advanced than photosynthesis.

Walking up the stairs to the ice rink, Lev let himself slouch, taking away at least three inches of his original 6’5 height, to fit through the door frame, nursing his cup of black tar. The sounds of kids giggling and the scrapping of ice made him perk up, raising his head and looking around the occupants of the building. Kids ran from side to side, pressing their faces up against the glass. A figure skating lesson was going on, booking the rink for another couple minutes. Lev watched as the kids’ eyes widened in amazement when the skater jumped, landing perfectly balanced on one foot. Lev watched the orange fluff of hair move gracefully from one side of the rink to another, a small smile taking over his face.

Hinata was always light on his feet and when Lev introduced him to ice skating, he knew it was going to be another hobby besides volleyball. He had spent countless nights at the ice arena, waiting for Lev to get off and teach him the basics of the sport. He was always open to learning new things. Soon, after a month or two, Hinata was surpassing Lev and had to find a new teacher, but luckily Lev had some connections. 

His dad, Nicholai Haiba, has been a natural at figure skating from a young age, even doing it competitively until he was in his late thirties until his hips started giving him problems. After that, he had solely become a family man, along with a coach for Lev and his older sister. Alaisa had always been better at it than him, just because she was much more proportionate compared to Lev’s long arms and legs. _No, Lev, you need flowy arms, not flailing arms,_ Lev had remembered his dad telling him all the time. Even after twelve years of skating he never could quite figure out the difference between flowing and flailing. 

Lev watched as Hinata glided across the ice, finishing in the middle. He looked out of breath and was panting, giving Lev hints that he has been here for a lot longer than he was supposed to have been. Hinata caught Lev’s eyes and guwaffed, bolting over to where Lev and a gaggle of kids were standing. On the sight of him moving towards them, they all let out amazed noises as Hinata got closer. One even went to the lengths to yell at the top of his lungs that he was going to start taking lessons to become the best skater in the world. 

That drew a small chuckle out of Lev, reminding him of someone else he knew. As Hinata got closer, Lev straightened and gave the other boy a bright smile, stepping through the group of kids onto the ice.

“Are you finally done hogging the floor?” Lev joked as Hinata ran straight into him, his once graceful movements gone the second Lev had met his eyes. He sent both of them to the ground in a fit of laughter, causing some of the kids to rush onto the ice and dogpile with them. 

“Yeah, yeah! Gimme a break! I was just here for an hour or so!” Hinata brimmed, laughing along with the kids who surrounded them.

“You were so pretty!!”

“Where did you learn to do that?!”

“Can I take lessons from you?!”

Kids started throwing questions and comments about Hinata’s skating to him, causing the small boy to go flush. He looked at Lev with a panicked look and then smiled, looking back to the tiny (or tinier than Hinata) humans and pulling himself into an upright position. “Oh no, I don’t teach! This guy right here is the starting point for me!” Hinata clapped Lev on the back, making the boy sputter. Lev had always forgotten how strong the shrimp was, but would never tell him that to his face.

“Oh you flatter me, Hinata. I just get paid to teach them how to stand up and move!” Lev joked, making the kids giggle. Hinata elbowed him and moved to get up, helping a few of the kids that were laying on him as well. Lev watched them quietly as a kid tugged on his sleeve.

“So you know how to skate too?? That’s cool! Can you teach me too?” He asked, looking up at Lev with twinkling eyes. 

Lev smiled and ruffled the boy’s hair, making him smile, “If you get the okay from your mom, I’m sure Hinata and I could show you some stuff if it’s really something you wanna do.” The kid ran off screaming after his mom and Lev chuckled a bit.

Hinata and Lev exited the rink, watching the kids get their skates and head back onto the ice. Watching them filled Lev with so much nostalgia and hope that he couldn’t help to beam alongside Hinata. 

_Maybe today isn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be…_

_\-------_

Three days had passed and Kenma finally figured out what the feelings he was feeling towards Lev was. 

**Hatred.**

Every day he walked into the coffee shop to collect his tar, Kenma’s hatred burned hotter and hotter for the stupid tall man that kept coming into his life. Every “Kenma-san” or “Kozume” had him wishing he would dump the scalding hot coffee into his perfect white hair. Kenma was never the type to like people in general, but especially not the ones who came into his work and asked to take creepy pictures of him for a ‘school’ thing and not knowing where those pictures would go after it. 

_I can’t deal with this little shit head anymore,_ he thought, staring at Lev who was sitting over in the corner quietly reading a book. Today was a lot warmer, causing Lev to pick into his spring wardrobe. Ripped black jeans hid his snow white legs as a chain hung from the pocket, creating a clanking as he walked, pissing Kenma off even more. He had a flannel thrown over a white hoodie haphazardly, the collar poking up on one side that Lev hadn’t bothered to fix, and his hair, a complete mess, had been clipped back to create a small cowlick in the back. Kenma’s grip tightened around the white cup he was holding, making the contents spill out of it and onto his hand, resulting in him letting out a yip. Lev looked over curiously, a gaze that asked a question but when Kenma shook his head he went back to his own business.

_Stupid loving look to make sure everything is alright._

Kenma had wanted to scream, to make some sort of noise that could get his feelings to lighten, but all he could do is smile at Lev and pretend that he didn’t want to murder him every second that he saw him or had to spend time in the same room as him. He wanted him gone and out of his life at this very instant, the burning sensation of his hand pushing him over the edge.

“Here, Lev.” He muttered, setting the cup on the counter. The boy looked up from his book and smiled, making Kenma’s nose scrunch. He walked over to grab the cup and hesitated in front of Kenma, looking down on him like he did every day before he went to work.

“Thank you, Kenma. I appreciate it.” Lev smiled, making Kenma want to punch him in the nose. _Stupid smile and stupid dimples of this stupid man._ “Oh, by the way, I just wanted to ask if you changed your mind about the pictures--”

“Lev. For the five hundredth time in the last three days,” _THE LAST THREE FUCKING DAYS, LEV_ , “I’m not going to let you take my picture.” Kenma said with a smile, meeting Lev’s stare right on. Lev shivered, earning a grin from Kenma as a sign of victory.

“Right, sorry...I’ll be on my way now.” Lev apologized and turned to the door, feeling Kenma’s heated eyes on him.

Kenma was seething by the time Lev left, the remnants of the conversation playing over in his mind. He has been bugging Kenma for the past week and he didn’t think that he could take very much more of the young boy.

“How can I get rid of him…” Kenma thought to himself, pacing the area behind the counter. 

He could always move? _No, not enough money and I don’t want to change schools._

Tell Lev straight up that he couldn’t stand the happy grin on his face every second of the day and he wanted to strangle him until his green eyes popped out of their sockets? _No, too violent and too confrontational._

Hire a hitman? _In what world would hitmen still be a thing, Kenma?_

 _What’s close to a hitman?_ Kenma asked himself, his pacing coming to a stop as he reached up for the hot cocoa mixture, knocking down white coffee powder in the mix.

Silence filled the coffee shop as Kenma looked at the white powder that littered the floor. Two seconds pass, then ten, then thirty. Minutes pass and they turn into what feels like hours. He looked at the white powder-- the exact color of his hair-- on the contrasting green tile. 

Kenma screams.

\--------

Tsukishima Kei was never a social person. As long as he has been on this Earth, he has hated every second of it. He was never really accepted anywhere, or just chose not to engage until the day that Yamaguchi Tadashi walked into his life. Well, more like Yamaguchi shoved himself into his life. But that story was for a different day. 

He was a third year at the college, majoring in business and minoring in archeology and paleontology. In short, Tsukishima Kei was a giant nerd. He could name about every extinct dinosaur that possibly walked the earth and visiting zoos with him were a hoot, Yamaguchi always joked that they had spent hours in the reptile rooms while Tsukishima listed off all the possible ancestors of every species. Yamaguchi, on the other hand, was the complete opposite. While Tsukishima had his feet planted on the ground, Yamaguchi’s head was in the stars. Yamaguchi was always looking up at the stars and teasing Tsukishima about being so realistic, only being natural that he majored in astronomy and minored in Japanese Literature. That boy could tell you about every supernova or solar system in the near vicinity of the Earth as well as what a haiku meant and how to write a hella good one. The two seemed like normal college kids on the outside, but on the inside, they were even more geeky when alone. Yamaguchi had always had an unhealthy obsession with astrology and myths, as Tsukishima had almost every constellation memorized. 

Passions and interests resurfaced from what seemed like a past life. Yamaguchi and he shared an apartment a block away from the college, being friends from high school and knowing each other for over six years. Things came easy to the two boys, a look here and a mutter there and they were on the same page. Two peas in a pod. Two boys who seemed like there wasn’t anything more than a close friendship. But looking closer, one could tell there was more going on. The drape of an arm over the back of the chair or wayward glances.

Another huge giveaway was Yamaguchi’s habits to bring home things for Tsukishima, all dinosaur related. Pins and patches of stegosauruses and velociraptors covered Tsukishima’s school backpack, his house keys were dripping in Jurassic Park merch, his wardrobe held countless of ties and not one, but two dinosaur pajama sets and a onesie, and not to forget the dinosaur bag. 

The Dinosaur bag (or Iggy as Yamaguchi called it and Tsukki too; even though he wouldn’t admit it) was a two foot tall bag that was shaped like a long neck stuffed animal (a brachiosaurus if Tsukki had to get specific) that Tsukishima took to work every day. The kids loved it and when they saw it sitting at the front desks, they raced to see who could find Tsukishima first. Iggy was a staple at the museum, making him the talk of the building, parents snickering as they saw the 6’2 man walk through the museum with a long neck bag and a line of elementary kids singing nonsense, or visitors from out of town seeing this bizarre event. Working at a museum and being a minor in archeology, as well as all the years he spent studying the ancient creatures, made him the perfect candidate to give guided tours through the prehistoric exhibits. The local elementary kids knew Tsukishima by name and not just Dinosaur Guy (even though Tsukki was perfectly fine with that). Yamaguchi had always teased Tsukishima that Iggy was the only thing helping him make friends, and as much to Tsukishima’s horror, Yamaguchi was right.

He had met a decent portion of his friends at work, linked to Iggy or not. The quiet Akaashi who stopped by here and there to drop some science research off, the delivery boy named Iwaizumi (who had an interesting story of his own), and last but not least, Hinata and his stupid partner in crime that was always attatched to his hip, Kageyama. 

See, Tsukishima didn’t exactly enjoy Hinata and Kageyama the first couple times they met. It had been a cold October day and the snow had just started to fall. The two had seeked refuge in the old museum, buying tickets and walking into the warmth of the foyer until they saw the bag. The bag had ended up creating this mess, and Tsukishima blamed Yamaguchi every day since then. Hinata and Kageyama wandered through the museum until they had heard the guide talking to a small group of kids. Ever since then, they had come in almost bi-weekly on a schedule to see Tsukishima and take a tour, expecting new information every trip to the museum. 

Fast forward back into the present, the harsh March sunlight hurt his eyes as he walked along the sidewalk lining the campus. The museum he had worked at wasn’t too far from campus, but it was still a bit of a trek. In the winters, he would catch a train to avoid the snow and in the spring he would bike. Some days, he and Yamaguchi would have the same hours at the museum (Tsukki working and Yamaguchi doing experiments or presentations in the adjoined planetarium) and were able to walk together, the cold air mingling with each breath they took. 

His Saturday morning shifts were his favorite. He would get to see the couples roaming the museum as he distanced himself to watch. They were quiet days, allowing Tsukishima’s mind to drift more than usual to the things that weren’t as important as keeping rent. He was able to stroll through the museum halls, stopping briefly at the groups that were lingering just a bit too long at one fossil or ones that looked completely lost. They were also the days that Yamaguchi worked in the planetarium. Tsukishima would always walk over on his lunch break to watch the brunette engulfed in his work. The dark lights of the planetarium had always suited Yamaguchi, his big green eyes glowing when the reading light hit them just perfectly, his many freckles contrasting against the white of his skin. The way his words seemed to echo sweetly through the tall ceiling. Tsukishima was head over heels for this boy, but of course he wasn’t going to admit it. 

It was Saturday morning, meaning that the two boys were walking side by side at a steady pace, the taller one sharing an earbud with the other, who took it thankfully. They watched as their breaths puffed out in steady rhythms and how it moved through the air. 

As they turned to start to walk off campus, they heard it. They heard the scream that was coming from the small coffee shop across from the local ice rink.

\-------

Kenma was staring at the mess on the floor when heard the door open. His head whipped around, his gaze being met with two sets of eyes. _Fuck, I probably screamed a little too loud._ Kenma thought as the two boys huddled in the corner of the shop, looking up at the menu.

“Hello, welcome.” Kenma muttered in his best customer service voice that he could muster after just screaming himself hoarse. 

“Hi! Can we just have a minute to--” The shorter boy started, his green eyes flitting over the menu overhead.

“Of course, take your time you two.” Kenma grinned, forcing himself to look happy.

He watched the two boys closely, taking in their appearances. 

The taller one had strawberry blonde hair, cut short and neat with black frames sitting high atop his nose, like he was looking down on the world. His eyes were cold and analytic, no warmth in his smile he offered to Kenma when he first walked in. Stoic and quiet, just like Kenma had guessed. His black slacks were wrinkle-free and his brown dress shoes were clean. The collared shirt was tucked into his slacks with a light jacket thrown over it, but a tie could be seen peeking out of the collar of the jacket. It looked black with little dinosaur tracks splattered on it. The tie was the best part, Kenma had decided, bringing a soft smile onto his face. But this was before he could process the two foot stuffed animal that hung from the boy’s side. Kenma stifled a laugh as he saw the boy grab his wallet out of his bag.

He next looked at the smaller boy. They were polar opposites.

The smaller boy was radiating sunshine, offering Kenma the sweetest smile as they walked through the doors. Soft, shaggy brunette hair hung the sides of his face, but the gravity didn’t do its job completely. There was a piece of hair at the top of his head that stood up stubbornly, refusing to be patted down when the boy had tried. Freckles dusted his eyes and his green eyes popped. Not as much as Lev’s, but they were still pretty. The boy was wearing light jeans with sneakers and a sweatshirt that looked a little too big on him with a dinosaur illustration in the breast pocket area. His bag wasn’t as obvious as the other’s but he had seen where they had matching keychains and pins on their bags and keys that the small boy was fidgeting with. 

_Huh, they seem like a cute couple,_ Kenma thought to himself, soon being pulled out of his trance as the two walked up to the counter.

“Hi! I was wondering if we could get two green teas with a touch of sugar?” The smaller boy smiled, making Kenma jump at the sound of his soft voice. Kenma nodded and turned to calculate the price, looking at the taller boy.

He handed the money over and Kenma got to work as they stepped back to talk about something.

“What do you want to do for lunch?” The small boy asked the other, making him smile just the slightest.

“Up to you. I picked last week.”

Kenma rolled his eyes and grumbled, keeping his thoughts to himself. He soon drifted to the problem with Lev until he was called out of it quickly.

“Are you okay?” The taller boy asked, no emotion in his voice, but Kenma could tell that there was something off about him.

“Yeah, just thinking. I’ll be fine.” Kenma answered, pouring their drinks into the disposable cups. 

“You look like you are planning a murder!” The smaller boy jokes, making Kenma wince. It was because he was. “Look, I don’t know what is going on with you but you gotta tell me! You look so pissed!”

That drew a chuckle out of Kenma, “I’m just thinking about someone who has been bugging me for the past month or so. Nothing major.”

“Want us to make you a warding spell to keep him away?” The smaller boy asked, his voice low and eyes hooded. Kenma looked at the two, trying to figure out if it was a joke or not. He looked up at the blonde and saw his reaction to the question as well.

“Yamaguchi, we can’t be giving that stuff out all the time. This is the third person this week.” The blonde looked at the other, his eyebrows knit in a mixture of confusion and panic.

“My last two offers were to children who believe in fake magic, Tsukki. I’m sure we could actually help this guy!” Yamaguchi beamed, looking at Kenma for approval. 

“Are you guys talking about witchcraft?” Kenma asked, not being able to keep a straight face. He soon started laughing, making the coffee shop fill with light noise, “Oh god I would love that. Give me the ingredients and ritual and I’ll get right on it!”

“I’m serious, this could actually help you at least a bit.” Yamaguchi smiled, pulling out a piece of paper, “Tsukki, can you give me the deets pretty please? And can I give him your number so he can call if he has any questions?” 

“Yeah, fine.” Tsukki looked at Kenma with the flattest look, “Do you want this person gone?”

Kenma nodded slowly, not thinking about the decision he just made. 

\-----

“Witchcraft?” Kenma looked at the boy in front of him curiously, watching him nod and smile.

“Yep!” 

Yamaguchi had stopped back around to the shop right as Kenma was getting off of work. Tsukishima had to work a little later than planned, sending Yamaguchi back to tell Kenma the options that they knew were to be true. 

“That doesn’t seem possible…” Kenma trailed off, watching Yamaguchi with cautious eyes. He had never heard of it until now, making his suspicions grow even more. 

“Oh trust me, it is.” Yamaguchi lowered his voice, looking Kenma straight in the eyes and sending shivers down the other boy’s spine. Ever since Yamaguchi stopped by, his whole personality changed. The once cheery and apologetic aura of him was gone, replaced by a calm and determined eyes that pulled the steadiness together. 

“How do you know?” Kenma asked, looking down at the book Yamaguchi had pulled out of his bag.

“I’ve had one following me around for the past six years of my life.” Yamaguchi smiled, looking at the book Kenma was now holding.

“And how does McSalty Man feel about that?” Kenma blurted out, making Yamaguchi’s eyes widen.

“W-Well, let’s just say he doesn’t quite mind.” He said, his smile growing brighter. _Something is up with him,_ Kenma thought, watching the boy’s facial expressions.

“So, what do I use then?” Kenma asked.

“Oh! I bookmarked the page that Tsukki told me to show you! He said that his one seemed like the best one for the job!” He smiled, taking the book and opening it to a page with scrawled handwriting and an illustration of a demon-like being. Long black horns protruded from a young man’s head, out of a mop of unruly black hair. Upwards pointed eyes seemed to stare into Kenma making him shift uncomfortably. 

“Is this thing handwritten?” He asked, looking at Yamaguchi. He nodded.

“Yeah, Tsukki wrote it while I added doodles to it. He yelled at me the first time but he lets me do it now.” Yamaguchi shrugged, looking at his drawing. Kenma studied it a bit longer, letting out a hesitant sigh. 

“Let’s hope this works.” 

“If you need any help, just give us a call.”

\-----

_Dear Whoever is in Charge of this Hellhole,_

_I just wanted to write to you and let you know that I’m done being a summoner. I’m sick of it. The college students have been asking for me the past three years now and I’ve finally hit my limit. If I become another bucket list cross off I will lose my fucking mind. One more game of beer pong or kegstand and I will tear this place a new one. I’m sorry for being so blunt but that’s the only way I know how to. I taught Tsukishima all he knows so I hope you expect the same from me. I don’t care where I go next. All I know is I need to get the fuck out of this business. One more human girl kisses me and I’m fucking out. One more human that calls me short and cute for a demon, I will rip someone’s ears off. If one more person calls my hair color pastel pink or peach, I will kick them. I hope you understand this and I hope that I’m not coming across as rude or whatever, but I cannot fucking take this god damn mother fucking chaos. And it’s me. I am chaos. But I can only take so much fucking chaos before I literally rip my own fucking horns out of my head and shove them all the way down someone’s throat. That’s it. Yaku is out, he is done, Yaku cannot deal with this utter bullshit anymore. And please, don’t tell Kuroo or Oikawa that I am changing departments. Please and thank you. I hope whoever is reading this has a nice day and I hope I never fucking see you again, with all due respect-- Y. Morisuke_

Yaku Morisuke hated mornings. Especially in Hell, but not for the reasons you would think.

It was hot, yes.

It was bright, yes.

The tiny rooms that the head of departments sucked, that smelt like horse shit and were an awful color of neon orange weren’t the reason he hated it.

But the one thing that Yaku hated more than those were the things standing in front of him now. Kuroo Tetsurou and Oikawa Tooru.

“The fuck do you want.” Yaku grumbled, curling onto his side. 

“Yaku, you need to get out of bed. Boss has been asking for you for a week now.” Oikawa softly responded, laying a hand on Yaku’s shoulder. He grumbled and pulled away, making Kuroo snort.

“Tell him fuck off, I’m done with it.” 

“Yaku Morisuke, I will drag your lazy ass out of bed. Fucking move.” Kuroo snapped, making Yaku let out a growl in return.

“Kuroo, leave me alone. I sent the resignation letter last week, he needs to learn to let go.”

“Yaku, he told us to come and make sure you didn’t leave the department. You are the best fucking killing machine we have here and he would be pissed if you left. And you teach good things, you are the best teacher now that I think about it.” Oikawa added to Kuroo’s statement, ignoring what Yaku had just said. The smallest boy groaned and raked a hand through his strawberry blonde hair, mumbling and cursing Oikawa out when he heard the truth in his statement.

“Fine. Why is he wanting me back anyways? I’m not teaching anyone or doing field research. Why would he want me to go back? And I swear if you tell me there was a summon from a college student, I will kill you.” He said, shooting daggers at Kuroo. 

“Well, actually--” Oikawa started, wincing when Yaku directed his glare at him.

“We got a summon from a college kid, but we don’t know what he wants. He summoned me, but I think you will be better at handling it than I would because he seems like one of the quiet ones. You wanted quiet so we tried to give you quiet.” Kuroo finished, making Yaku’s glare soften.

“Quiet?” He asked, cocking his head to the side. He could feel excitement bubbling up.

“Y-Yeah. He seems super chill.” Oikawa finished, biting back a smile that was caused by the tilt of Yaku’s head. 

“Fine. When did he summon?” Yaku asked, sitting up out of bed. For living in hell, it wasn’t as hot and horrible as it seemed. Most mornings he was freezing and others he was just fine. The people here were okay too, well most of them. The Incubi and Succubi were really the only people he couldn’t stand. But in other words, Hell was fine.

“Just now. Boss sent us running for you because you were the best type of person for these kinds of people.” Kuroo told him with a pout on his face. Kuroo’s types were the partier, the crazy people, and the people that lived life by the seat of their pants. Never the quiet ones. Oikawa dealt with the flirts and the hopeless romantics, while Yaku specialized with the quiet and unpredictable ones. Being the most flexible with personalities, he was given the scary quiet ones and the ones who had suicide plans if the summoning didn’t work. 

“Fine, go. Let me get ready and I’ll go deal with it. Kuroo, since you woke me up, I’m dragging you along as well.” Yaku muttered, making Kuroo groan. On his instruction, both Kuroo and Oikawa left Yaku alone in silence. 

He stretched backwards, letting his back arch and his hips rotate and pop. Yaku let out a sigh of satisfaction as his back popped as well, letting himself fall back onto the bed. He stared at the ceiling, wishing he could wake up from this nightmare but to his lack of surprise, he didn’t wake up from this never ending nightmare. 

“Oh course I will never be able to run away from this. You sold your soul to Satan for a single cornchip, Yaku, what makes you think you are getting away from this?” he asked himself, grumbling and getting out of bed. He sulked to his closet to dig through his clothes that would be acceptable for meeting humans.

 _Nothing too creepy, nothing too over the top, and definitely nothing pink,_ Yaku thought, staring at the three pink shirts he owned. Once upon a time, they were white and cream, until Kuroo had gone and fucked it up when he offered to do Yaku’s laundry and he trusted him blindly. 

Yaku sighed, pulling out black tee and loose fitting light wash jeans. He finished the outfit off with an oversized knit cardigan that went down to his knees with his white slip ons. He was never one to be invested in human fashion, just whatever would be comfortable for the day but Kuroo and Oikawa both forced him to go shopping for more stylish clothes. Since then, his sense of fashion got weirder for sure, but fit him most of the time.

As he walked out, Kuroo and Oikawa both were raring to go. Kuroo was hitting on a girl who was walking past with paper work while Oikawa was filing his nails. He was weird like that, refusing to let his nails grow past a certain length and always was dragging other’s nail care. It became so bad to the point he taped Yaku’s fingers for a week to get him to stop chewing his nails.

“Kuroo, leave the poor girl alone.” Yaku smacked Kuroo in the back of the head, making the girl giggle and mutter a thank you. Kuroo whipped around, eyes narrowed and lips pursed.

“Yaku come on man, I almost had her-- Why do you look like a grandma?” Kuroo stopped mid sentence, looking Yaku up and down. Oikawa raised his head to look at Yaku too, making a twisted face.

“Yeah, why do you look like a grandma?” 

“You two better shut the fuck up before I make you deal with this on your own.” He threatened, shooting the both of them a smile. One of his signature moves. Oikawa and Kuroo both backed up at least five steps as Yaku walked by, instinctively covering their important parts. Yaku was ruthless when he was pissed and had four people that could vouch for that.

“Fine fine, we’re sorry.” Kuroo held his hands up in mock defense as Oikawa snickered. As the group parted from one another, Kuroo stayed with Yaku as he went to his room and workspace. 

The room was split in two, since both Kuroo and Yaku worked in the same space. A large window at the opposite side of the door was decorated with large black curtains and stuffed bats (Kuroo’s joke since he always gave Oikawa shit for not having any witchlike decor in his own room), the light from the outside seeping in like ooze. Yaku went to his side and started to silently draw his own summoning circle, matching the one that Kuroo was assigned to the best of his abilities. He drew it in white chalk on the concrete floor, looking up at Kuroo from time to time. He was watching Yaku like a hawk, shifting uncomfortably.

“I still hate how you can draw those summoning circles with ease.” Kuroo stated, making Yaku laugh. 

“It’s just practice, Kuroo.” Yaku responded, his eyes never leaving the white chalk. Minutes later, he stood and wiped the chalk from his hands onto his jeans, “Since it’s yours, we have to use your blood.”

Kuroo groaned and looked around for the knife he had used on himself so many times before. Yaku grew impatient and sat in the circle, watching the taller man struggle in his search. Finally, he found it and walked over to the circle, dripping a few drops of his blood onto the ground. 

The circle began to glow a harsh red, lighting up Kuroo and Yaku faces and sending harsh shadows to cover their features. “I’ve always hated this…” Yaku commented, getting a small nod from Kuroo. The ground suddenly gave out beneath the two’s feet, sending them plummeting into darkness.

\-----

Kenma was sitting in his room, looking at the circle with the scrawly letterings and symbols inside it, along with the puddle of blood that was dripping from his hand. 

“Shit, I cut too deep.” He told himself, going off to search for a bandage or wrap to stop the bleeding. He padded off to the bathroom, closing the door behind him just in case Yamaguchi’s advice worked. 

But he did the one thing Yamaguchi told him not to do. He left the summoning circle open and unsupervised. 

Kuroo and Yaku were in the apartment in an instant, their once prominent horns gone. They looked around briefly, until the smell hit Yaku.

“What the fuck is that god damn smell? Oh my god, it smells like the shit you always eat, Kuroo.” He whined, moving his sleeve up to his nose to try and mask the smell. Kuroo took a big inhale in and smiled.

“That smells like mackerel.” And he was gone into the apartment in an instant. Yaku stayed put, looking around the apartment with curiosity. Posters with fictional looking boys and girls hung on the wall, along with controllers littering the room. 

“Disgusting.” Yaku commented when he saw the gross looking pizza sitting on the coffee table. _This is a college student all right_.

Kenma heard rustles from the bathroom and poked his head out. He was greeted with a man a head taller than him looking down at him, chewing something. 

“Hey, did you make this? This is really good.” The man smiled down at him, making Kenma scream.

“What the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck?? IT WORKED?! THE FUCK?!” Kenma lost his composure, freaking out at the sight of Kuroo. He looked exactly like the picture in Yamaguchi’s notebook. This had to be--

“Huh?? Kuroo, where did you go?” Another voice asked within the house. A smaller boy showed up beside the taller name, looking at Kenma with soft eyes.

“I think I found the client.” The taller man smiled, making the smaller one pout.

“Excuse me, pea brain, but you begged me to come along because you don’t know how to handle the quiet types.” The smaller man kicked the taller one in the leg, making the man yelp in pain. Kenma couldn’t help but let out a soft chuckle while watching the two bicker. Soon, the smaller man turned his attention towards Kenma, his soft eyes welcoming.

“Hey, I’m assuming you were the one who ordered a hitman? ” the small man joked, making Kenma jump.

“W-Well, I--”

“It’s all good, just give me the details and we can talk about price later. I’m Yaku by the way, this is Kuroo, the little asshole who ate your mackerel that you were cooking.” 

Kenma was floored, between the blood loss, the two men standing in front of him and the fact that one of them ate his dinner, he didn’t know what to say. He looked between the two and his jaw fell open, earning a laugh from the taller man.

“C’mon kid, let’s go to the kitchen. More food and more space.” Kuroo stated, slinging an arm around Kenma’s shoulders. He drug him to the kitchen and sat him down, hopping onto the counter and resting his hands against his knees. Yaku had followed, but decided to lean against the counter, looking at Kenma in front of them.

“What’s the sitch?” Kuroo asked, making Yaku roll his eyes. 

“Kuroo, shut up for a second. He’s in shock, look at the poor thing.” Yaku snapped back, throwing at sideways glare at the other 

“I-- Holy shit you guys really are demons. Yamaguchi is a witch, so that must mean Tsukishima--”

“Tsukki?! Oh yeah, we know him! The little shit was Yaku’s favorite back in the day.” Kuroo shouted, making Kenma and Yaku both flinch, one at the volume and the other at the enthusiasm.

“Tsukishima was under me for a few years but it wasn’t that long. You know him?” Yaku asked, ignoring Kuroo’s comment.

“W-Well, I know his friend. They came into the place I work and gave me this spell thingy--”

“Summoning.” Kuroo butted in.

“Whatever it is. So, does that mean Tsukishima is a, you know, one of you?” Kenma asked shyly, peeking out from behind his hair.

“Well, not necessarily. He is just a baby in terms of what we are. He’s a succubus, meaning that--”

“OH MY GOD TSUKKI IS FUCKING THE LITTLE GUY.” Kuroo shouted, making Yaku let out a laugh that he wasn’t aware that he was holding in. “OH MY GOD, TSUKKI IS FUCKING THE LITTLE GUY WHO HAS GREEN HAIR AND OH MY GOD I CAN”T BELIVE IT WHERE IS HE NOW?” Kuroo pestered Kenma, making the blonde fidget.

“Kuroo, knock it off Jesus Christ.” Yaku snapped, smacking him in the back of the head. Kuroo finally shut up, just watching the blonde now. “I’m sorry about him, but let’s get to business,” Yaku’s voice dropped, his brown eyes glowing in the darkness of the kitchen. “What do you need?”

“I-- Well, there has been this kid and--”

“True love? Sorry buddy, but that isn’t our kind of thing here.” Kuroo cut him off, making Kenma’s eyes lock with him. Kuroo’s eyes were sharper than Yaku’s, creating an uneasy feeling in the bottom of Kenma’s stomach. The thing about Kuroo was that his eyes could make anyone shut up if they started at them long enough.

“No, it’s more like true hatred,” Kenma laughed sharply, cutting through Kuroo and Yaku like a knife, “I hate him so much. He comes around all day and bugs me and even at school when I tell him to go away. I just want him gone.” 

Yaku stared at the boy with hurt eyes. He knew the feeling. He knew the feeling of being followed and picked on, annoyed, the butt of everyone’s jokes. His muscles relaxed as he took a step towards Kenma slowly, reaching out his hand to the boy.

“Give us the information and we will take care of it. How much will you pay--”

“Whatever you guys want.” Kenma responded back instantly, causing a shudder to go through Kuroo’s body. 

The longer Kuroo looked at this boy, the more his heart ached. Every syllable that came out of his mouth left Kuroo on edge and ready to pounce. His eyes drifted to the white cloth that was pooled on Kenma’s hand and he felt a protective instinct rush through his body.

“You need to clean that.” He blurted, making Kenma and Yaku look at him curiously. 

“Kuroo, we are kinda busy right now--”

“I don’t care. Bathroom, now.” Kuroo demanded, hopping off the counter and into the small bathroom down the hall. Kenma looked at Yaku, watching him nod defeatedly, and got up to walk to the bathroom after Kuroo. 

He was met with the tall man sitting on the ground, rummaging through the cabinet under the sink in search of gauze and disinfectant.

“You know, you really don’t have to do this.” Kenma sighed, looking down at his bleeding hand.

“I don’t care if I have to or not. Sit your ass down before I force it down.” Kuroo looked at him, his yellow eyes piercing through Kenma. 

Kenma let out a shaky breath and sat down on the side of the tub, watching Kuroo with careful eyes. Kuroo took a swab of cotton with disinfectant and held out his hand to Kenma, urging him to take it, which Kenma did carefully. 

Kuroo ran the cotton along the cut of Kenma’s hand gently, but still earned a wince of pain when it touched his skin. 

“Stop moving.” Kuroo grumbled, making Kenma still in his seat.

“I can’t. It hurts.”

“Jesus Christ, stop complaining and sit still.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“No.”

“I’m not doing this tonight.”

“Well I didn’t ask for you to do it.”

“Just fucking sit still, you annoying little ass--”

Yaku snickered from the kitchen, listening to the conversation that was happening in the bathroom. It was always a different experience from human to human, but this was one that he had never seen before. Kuroo was always a little shit with humans and never this caring, which made Yaku suspicious of why he was being kind now. _Maybe he is beginning to have a soft stop…_

A couple minutes later, the two of them came back from the bathroom. Yaku was sitting on the counter and looked up upon hearing their arrival, “Everything okay?” He asked, looking between the two boys.

“Yeah, everything is fine. Let’s talk about what we get in advance before we take on your little fling.” Kuroo smirked, soon turning to look at Kenma.

“I dunno, my soul? Isn’t that how it works?” Kenma shrugged, looking at Yaku.

“Well, it could go one of two ways. We do what you want but you'll be tied to one of us the rest of your mortal life and even in the afterlife if your soul finds its way there. Or, you die along with that person that you are--”

“I take option A, whoever wants me can have me. No way in Hell I am dying with Lev. No, never in a million years.” Kenma answered immediately, making Kuroo smirk.

“Well, I guess that settles it, who do you want to be tied to sweet cheeks?” Kuroo smirked, looking Kenma up and down. 

“Kuroo, give him time. Let him decide without us here you jackwad.” Yaku smacked him on the arm, making Kenma chuckle, “We will give you time. By the end of the week, we would like answers and details about what this guy is like and where we can find him.”

“Yes, I can do that for you.”

“Thank you Kenma.”

\-----

Oikawa Tooru hated humans, especially ones that were tall and had blue eyes. 

Kageyama Tobio was a constant nuisance in Oikawa’s everyday life, especially ever since he had signed his soul away to Oikawa. But being signed away did come with perks.

Yaku and Kuroo would end up having to move to the human world for this assignment, Kuroo winning the soul of Kenma fair and square while Yaku was in charge of the elimination of a character on Earth, meaning they would need a place to live. Yaku and Kuroo had both called in favors to Oikawa, begging him to find them a place to live while still living in the area around campus. Luckily, Oikawa had his connections and was able to set up a tour with one real estate agent to look through the apartment set on the 27 of March.

When the twenty-seventh of March did come around, Oikawa was standing in front of Kageyama’s apartment complex.

“You have to be kidding me.” Oikawa grumbled, looking at the for sale sign to the _Kageyama_ resident sign. “I refuse to believe this.”

Oikawa was in what he called his comfies. An oversized tee with a depreciation of a cartoon scene was thrown haphazardly over a black turtleneck, black jeans evening out the white shirt. His glasses sat on the top of his nose crooked, but still somehow in place. He was not in the mood to deal with Kageyama today, or his little shrimp roommate. 

But to Oikawa’s luck, as he was waiting for the agent, the men of question opened the door and walked out of the apartment.

Kageyama was the first to meet Oikawa’s cold glare. It was nothing new to him, but whenever he saw the brunette, all the confidence he had built up over the years vanished to create a scared look in his eyes. Oikawa saw it, and was instantly teleported back to when they first met.

_Smoke. Only smoke. Black. Heavy. Suffocating._

_Kageyama was a first year recruit at the local fire station. He passed the entrance exam with flying colors and excelled at the training. It was now the real test of the job. The first call._

_The fire was only a few blocks away from where the station was, so they had gotten there when it seemed like it was a small blaze in the side of a building. The sirens roared, the smoke billowing out of the windows were ash grey, and the heads of the department were rerouting traffic while throwing out instructions to the first years. They were calm, but the rest of the people around weren’t._

_Parents were screaming, kids were crying, and howling came from every direction. The fire had started in an apartment complex, spreading to the other residents and soon to the building next to it. Kageyama felt the adrenaline kick in, making his head foggy. He remembered the things he was taught and the steps that needed to be taken, but in an instant, everything went blank._

_“Kageyama, Daichi, you two need to go in!” A senior officer shouted, making the two boys whip around to look at each other._

_“Are you ready, rookie?” Daichi asked with a small smile on his face, but fear in his eyes._

_“Ready as I’ll ever be.”_

_And they went in without another word._

_Kids were screaming in the apartment building. Some clung to the rails of the stairs that Daichi and Kageyama were climbing, telling the kids to run down the stairs and there was going to be someone there at the end of the staircase. After the kids were told to run, they ran. The screaming got fainter, being replaced by the crackling of flames._

_“Daichi, it’s too hot, I don’t think--”_

_“Kageyama, go. I will take this floor, go to the next one and make sure it’s clear.”_

_“Yes sir.”_

_The smell of burning flesh should have been the first sign that Kageyama was not supposed to be there, the second was the calmness of the floor. It looked like flames hadn’t touched the cream walls, creating a sense of false hope and comfort. Kageyama sweeped the floor, going over it a second time before he found the first body._

_A scream bubbled up from his chest, creating a constricting feeling in his throat, whether it be from the smoke that surrounded him like a haze or the sight of the first dead body he had ever seen. They looked almost normal, red hair brushed over their forehead in a sweep and faint freckles dusting their cheeks. He ran to the body, trying to look for signs of life. He was calm until he rested their head in his hands._

_The sensation of gooiness covered his gloves hands, feeling like the slime he used to make when he was a kid, even through the thick gloves. The smell of burning flesh hit him like a train as he pulled a hand back to examine what had possibly been on his hands._

**_RED AND TAN._ **

_Red coated his hands like paint, making Kageyama let out a panicked scream. He shoved the body as far away as he possibly could without moving from his spot. “No no no,” he muttered, rubbing his melted skin and blood covered hands against his pants._

_This was the calm before the storm…_

_Kageyama shifted to get up when he heard the beam crack. It sounded like a cartoon in slow motion, and he looked up. A rafter from the now non existent ceiling fell, landing on Kageyama’s chest. He gasped, trying to find something to fill his lungs, to open them up and take a breath, but he was only met with smoke. It billowed from the building, filling his lungs like poison._

_“No, no, no!” Kageyama screamed, hoping someone could hear him. Nothing. He heard nothing but the fire alarms and the crackling of the unalive beast that had him trapped like a caged animal, “Please! Someone! Daichi! SOMEONE!”_

_Silence._

_Crackling._

_A soft sigh._

_Kageyama could feel himself drifting. His thoughts became muddled, disgusting ash colored memories flying back from his highschool years. He was only nineteen after all. The memories of lunches with friends, teammates gathered together to celebrate a win, and him. His thoughts became orange and yellow._

_Hinata Shoyo._

_The boy that Kageyama had met in his last year of middle school and officially in his first year of highschool. The boy who had kept him from losing his cool with his former teammates, the boy who had challenged him to races to the clubroom, the boy who taught him that his emotions were not his weaknesses._

**_Except in these exact moments._ **

_Kageyama let out a soft cry, shifting underneath the beam until he heard footsteps._

_“The last seven minutes of a human’s life, disgusting.” A soft voice rang in Kageyama’s ears. He whipped his head around as best he could, being met with a figure of a man in a waistcoat and slacks, a tie neatly tucked into the coat._

_“P-Please help me, I can’t die here. Hinata-- He wouldn’t be able to survive, PLEASE!” Kageyama reached out, only to make the man recoil back from his hand, “The funeral, his dad’s, he can’t relive that again with me, please get me out from under here!”_

_Oikawa was never fond of humans, but seeing this one filled him with something he had never felt, a mix of hatred and longing that this boy was feeling. He couldn’t take his soul, especially after that touching performance. He couldn’t save him free of cost either._

_“Tell me more about this Hinata character.” Oikawa smirked, sitting on top of the beam that covered Kageyama. To Kageyama’s surprise, this man’s weight was non-existent atop his chest._

_“He-- I don’t even know what to say.” Kageyama drifted._

**_Three more minutes…_ **

_“Hm, speechless huh? Well fine, keep a man waiting in suspense. Since you have someone you are obviously pining over, I’ll strike you a deal,_ **_Kageyama_ ** _.” The man spit his name out, making Kageyama scream in pain, “You serve me at my beck and call, and you get to go see this boy for the rest of your days. Deal? Deal, Of course it is a deal, you have maybe two more minutes, give or take. That smoke in your lungs has to be dangerous.” Oikawa stalled, watching the boy struggle._

_“F-Fine! Just get it off!” Kageyama screamed, thrashing about underneath the rafter. The smoke had gotten hotter and the heat seemed to melt the plastic from the firesuit._

_“Five, four, three, two, one--”_

_“DEAL!”_

Oikawa was thrown back into reality. Kageyama, the boy who shouldn’t even be alive, was standing in front of him with a set face. Nothing changed from that day. His black hair was slicked back, his blue eyes cold and analytical, his skin tanned from the heat of the fires he faced every day. He was wearing jeans and a hoodie, copping black shoes to pull the look together. He stared at Oikawa until something ran straight into him.

“Wah-- why’d you just stop, stupid Kageyama!” A loud voice came from behind him but no source.

“Dumbass! Watch where you are going!” Kageyama yelled behind him, making Oikawa let out a soft chuckle. 

A small boy with unruly orange hair came out from behind Kageyama, his phone in his left hand and his right rubbing his nose. He was wearing a grey flannel under a jean jacket and tweed pants, pinstriped down to his grey canvas shoes.

 _Huh, he’s cute._ Oikawa thought to himself as he watched Kageyama turn around and look at the small boy. His expression softened, a smile threatening to tug at the corners of his lips.

“H-Holy shit.” Oikawa blurted, recieving questioning looks from both Kageyama and the boy, “Holy fucking shit, Kageyama, this is Hinata? The one you were crying over?!” 

“Oi, shut up! I was not crying!” Kageyama turned defensive, turning totally to Oikawa.

“U-Uh, Kageyama, who is that?” the small boy, Hinata, asked, tugging at Kageyama’s sleeve.

“Oh, uh, this is Oikawa, uh, my--”

“Your guys’ new neighbors! We are moving in here in a couple of days! Two buddies of mine.” Oikawa finished, sending an evil smirk to Kageyama.

“Tell me you are fucking shitting me.” 

“Nope!” Oikawa smiled, making Kageyama groan and Hinata beam.

“New neighbors! Hell yeah!!”

\-----

Moving in the day was a nightmare. Yaku and Kuroo were tripping over boxes as Oikawa just sat and watched the two struggle. Kageyama and Hinata had stopped over to help move the couch and the kitchen appliances in, as well as the beds and the bookshelves. Well, more like Kuroo and Kageyama did the heavy lifting while Yaku cleared the way and Oikawa and Hinata sat there uselessly. Oikawa had stated he couldn’t do any heavy lifting because it would ‘fuck up his nails’ and Hinata was always in the way whenever he had tried to help.

Moving in took about half a day, Hinata dipping half way through to go meet a friend from school.

“Who was that friend that shrimpy took off to meet?” Kuroo asked once the four of them were settled in the living room. Moving boxes were spread around the room as four of them talked.

“Oh, it sounded like Lev, he needed help with a school project and usually Hinata offers to help.” Kageyama shrugged, taking a drink of the water Yaku had offered him. Kuroo perked up at the mention of the name, looking over at Yaku. 

Yaku had looked up from the box he was unpacking, watching Kageyama talk, “Lev?” He asked, setting the box over to the side.

“Yeah, you guys will probably see him around here sometimes. He and Hinata are tight. He’s a photography major at the college, weird dude, kinda blunt but nice.” Kageyama shrugged, looking to meet Yaku’s eyes.

“I’m sure he is wonderful.” Oikawa joked, making Yaku snort. 

_Only if this kid knew that this Lev guy is gonna be dead in three months tops,_ Yaku thought, his snort turning into full fledged laughter.

“Yaku, do you need to go take a nap?” Kuroo asked, making Yaku laugh even harder.

“The stress finally got to him,” Oikawa joked, getting off the couch and ushering Yaku to his room, “Nap time for the baby. Go on, get some sleep. Maybe you’ll grow taller.” he ran from Yaku’s door.

In the doorway, Yaku was standing there seething. He hated when people commented about his height, especially the lack thereof. “You are so fucking lucky I’m tired Tooru. Tomorrow, I’m fucking murdering you in this life and the next.”

“Aww the baby is just sleepy, he doesn’t really mean it.” Kuroo joked, making Yaku slam his door shut. 

Yaku changed from his moving clothes into a pair of shorts and a tank top, soon climbing into bed at four in the afternoon. He could really use a nap, especially after the eventful day of moving in and applying to the coffee shop that Kenma worked at, along with forging an application to the college to keep an eye on both Kenma and Lev at the same time. He decided to major in biology, one that he hadn’t majored in a while. He wondered how much things have changed in the thirty years he was out of the biology program. 

The excitement of the day drifted and allowed Yaku to slip into a dead sleep.

Out in the living room, Kuroo, Oikawa, and Kageyama had slipped into natural conversation.

“Kageyama, be honest with me. What is this Lev kid like?” Kuroo asked, making Kageyama tense up.

“W-Well, he’s a little bit of an asshole. I don’t know, I’m usually out of the house working when he is over and Hinata is always out with him. I’ve just seen bits and pieces.” He shrugged, earning a hum from Kuroo, “Why? Are you worried about something?” 

“A little bit, Yaku hasn’t been himself lately. I’m scared meeting a new person is going to create a new side of him that I won’t quite like.”

“Ph don’t be a worrywart. Yaku is Yaku, he isn’t gonna change.” Oikawa commented. 

_But I really think he is going to end up getting massively attached to this boy…_

  
  


_**Little add on to the Tsukki story about Iwaizumi's friendship blossoming as well:** _

Tsukishima was done for the day. He had hit his limit half an hour ago and he had two more hours in his shift. The day had been hell, ranging from kids trying to touch the Ankylosaurus display to the delivery boy being late for the third time in a row.

The new delivery boy was a hoot. He was not only late, he was disrespectful and always ended up getting under Tsukishima’s skin.

Three hours later, Tsukishima was sitting at the front desk working on a paper when he came in. He was out of uniform, sporting a white tee and grey sweatpants with the university emblem on the thigh. Tsukishima looked him up and down, setting his cold gaze on the boy’s green eyes.

“You seem a little late today, Iwaizumi.” Tsukishima pushed, earning a glare from the boy. Under his arm was a small package that Tsukishima knew what was inside. It was a gag gift for Yamaguchi. He was planning on giving it to him the day he started working at the museum, which was a whole month ago. 

“Shove it beanpole. I’m not in the mood today.” Iwaizumi pushed back.

“It’s nice to finally see the thing I ordered a month ago.”

“Tsukishima, I’m REALLY not in the mood.”

“Seems like you have a problem.” Tsukishima smiled, making Iwaizumi open his mouth in retort before getting cut off.

“Tsukki! I was looking for you!” Yamaguchi was walking in the direction of the desk, making Tsukishima light up briefly. He had a soft spot for this little asshole and he didn’t care if Iwaizumi saw it or not.

“What’s up?” Tsukishima turned towards Yamaguchi, making Iwaizumi bristle.

“I was wondering-- Oh, are you in the middle of dealing with the delivery boy?” Yamaguchi stopped, giving his full attention to Iwaizumi.

“Hi,”

“Hi!”

“What did you need?”

“Oh, right! Well, one of the kids in your group was asking where you were cause they wanted to ask you a question so I told them I would find you and ask.” Yamaguchi smiled, causing Tsukishima to smile back.

“As touching as this is, I need a signature.” Iwaizumi cut in, making Yamaguchi sush him this time with a clipped grin.

“His question was if Godzilla was a dinosaur or a monster.”

This sent both boys into silence.

“Well, of course he is a monster--” Tsukishima started, only to get cut off mid sentence.

“Actually, he is a dinosaur.”

“Excuse me?” Yamaguchi and Tsukishima both looked at the delivery boy.

“Yeah, he is a dinosaur. There was a study about it a few months ago.” Iwaizumi shifted uncomfortably on the balls of his feet, aware that he was going to start an argument with a dinosaur nerd.

“He’s a monster.” Tsukishima responded.

“Well, no. Kenneth Carpenter, a paleontologist at Utah State University, took a stab at that second question in a 1998 essay he wrote for The Official Godzilla Compendium. Traditionally, the monster has been identified as a theropod dinosaur. All known carnivorous dinos are classified as theropods. So are birds.” Iwaizumi started. 

“That was in 1998 and in America, how do you know that is credible?” Yamaguchi asked, making Iwaizumi smile. 

“Well, Godzilla's skull looks short and blunt for a theropod. He also tends to be depicted with four fingers per hand, and the beast's got multiple rows of bony, vertically oriented plates running down his back and tail. Using these features, Carpenter tentatively assigned Godzilla to the ceratosauria, a primitive theropod subgroup. Like our radioactive pal, a few ceratosaurus had backsides that were littered with osteoderms: bony deposits embedded in the skin. Certain species, such as the bull-horned _Carnotaurus sastrei,_ had shortened skulls to boot.” 

“You have to be kidding me right now. I am not getting a lecture about why Godzilla is a fictional dinosaur.” Tsukishima laid his head in his hands, glancing at Yamaguchi from the corner of his eye. Yamaguchi was invested in this, his notepad out and taking notes.

“OK, so Godzilla must be a ceratosaurian theropod, right?”

“Right,” Yamaguchi nodded in thought.

“Not necessarily, says Victoria Arbour. Crocs, alligators and their prehistoric kin form a reptilian clade called the pseudosuchia. As Arbour notes, osteoderms and four-fingered hands are more commonly seen in pseudosuchians than they are in theropods. So perhaps Godzilla belongs to the former group. Speaking of digits, let's check out Godzilla's feet. In most of the original Japanese movies, the big guy has a plantigrade stance. That means he walks flat on his feet like humans. Conversely, digitigrade animals — such as dogs — walk on their toes while keeping their heels off the ground.”

“You have to be fucking kidding me right now.”

“Truly huge land animals such as the long-necked dinosaurs have column-shaped, digitigrade feet. Those limbs are really efficient at supporting massive body weights. So if Godzilla were a real creature we'd probably expect him to have digitigrade hindlimbs — even though a 2017 study claimed plantigrade animals can swing their arms more forcefully in combat. And Godzilla sure _loves_ combat.” Iwaizumi continued to make his point, talking slowly and repeating here and there when Yamaguchi asked for it. 

“I cannot fucking believe this.”

“This is mostly due to the square-cube law: When you scale up an object, its mass increases more sharply than its surface area. Double the height, weight and length of a wooden cube and you'll have also made the thing _eight_ times heavier than it was before. Plus in 2018, he used computer modeling to test the hypothesis that _Spinosaurus_ — a theropod with a large sail on its back — was built for swimming. He found that the deep overall body shape of this fin-backed animal would have made the dinosaur prone to tipping over as it swam.”

“Please, just stop, Iwaizumi, you are embarrassing yourself.”

“Meanwhile, Godzilla's plates appear to make up an even smaller fraction of the kaiju's total mass. He'd need to build a new digital model to prove it, but for now Henderson suspects that "the plates of Godzilla would not cause it to tip" during swim sessions. Still, as a marine animal, Godzilla would face plenty of other problems. Seagoing creatures tend to be streamlined. With his jagged osteoderms and chunky legs, Godzilla is anything but. Therefore, he'd need to expend lots of extra energy in order to propel himself through the water.”

“Oh my god, Iwaizumi you are a nerd, please stop.”

“But Carpenter thinks the similarities between Godzilla and theropod dinos are probably too numerous to be coincidental. We already know that Dr. Yamane [a character from the 1954 movie] declared the original Godzilla a dinosaur, Carpenter says, and since he was on site, I'll take his word."

“Woah! How do you know so much about Godzilla?!” Yamaguchi asked, making Iwaizumi smile and pull out his keys. A Godzilla keychain hung from the key ring, making Yamaguchi gush.

“I’ve been a fan all my life!” Iwaizumi smiled, making Tsukishima grumble.

“I just witnessed a bad case of second hand embarrassment, I’m going to go throw up now, God that was terrible.”

“Tsukki, I think you and him would be really good friends!” Yamaguchi laughed, making Tsukishima blush. He took the package and walked off with Yamaguchi’s notepad to go tell the kids what Iwaizumi had just told him.

“Don’t worry, he’ll come around. He hates being wrong.” Yamaguchi laughed, writing something down on a sticky note, “Here, it’s our numbers. We watch Godzilla every third Thursday of the month. If you want, send us a text and we can all watch it together.” He smiled and gave him the sticky note, soon disappearing into the museum.

He wasn’t sure how he did it, but Iwaizumi somehow made two friends through a long rant about a fictional dinosaur. It was a good day, such a good day where he had actually snuck a Godzilla keychain, the same one he had on his keys, into the package of the stegosaurus keychain. 


	2. And April Showers

_“Now that Kuroo and I moved in, the neighbors have been louder and louder. I haven’t gotten a full night’s sleep in the last three days. They yell, louder than Oikawa whines, and they stomp. Well, we assume the tall grumpy one stomps, the orange haired one seems like the loud one. Well, they both seem like the loud ones. One morning we were woken up with moaning, and Kuroo almost went over there to complain but he didn’t want to stop whatever the hell was happening on the other side of the wall. We are both hoping they either break up or move out, because we are not about to deal with this shit every morning. But hey, young kids will have fun and old men will complain. Stay safe in whatever you are doing Hina, I miss you and love you. Also, save me a plate when I come back home, you make the best stir-fried vegetables.” ~ Y.Morisuke_

The apartment was quiet, the only sound resonating through it was the sound of the shower running. Kuroo always had morning showers and Yaku got them soon after, when the water warmed up enough from Kuroo’s hour long ones. The water shut off, and Yaku heard footsteps approaching the door

“Who are you writing to?” Kuroo asked, popping his wet head into Yaku’s room. He was sitting at a desk that was moved in for his school work, nestled into the corner where Yaku could stare out the window. April had come and Yaku was miserable. The city in the spring was one thing he hated most, the rain and the heavy traffic being the biggest ones.

“My sister, she just started a new job in the soul department and she hates it already.” Yaku chuckled, folding the piece of paper he was writing on and placing it in one of the pull out drawers.

“Ah, well tell her hi for me. Also, are you ready for your first day at work?” Kuroo teased, turning into a mother figure Yaku had always despised.

It was April 4th, the first Saturday of the month and also his first day he was scheduled to work. Kenma had been nice enough to land him a job at the shop he worked in and the one Lev had always come into before his trek to work. Yaku was brimming with excitement, looking forward to actually meeting the boy that Kenma had hated.

“Yeah, actually. I wanna see what this guy is like and how terrible he has to be to have Kenma hating him.” Yaku answered truthfully, looking out the window to the apartment. The building oversaw a small park, treetops and greenery stretching as far as Yaku could see. He loved looking at the blossoming trees, especially when cherry blossom season was coming to a close, seeing the contrasting greens and pinks lining the walkways.

“Ha, I think he won’t be that bad, but you never know. Don’t get attached, Yaku, we don’t want a repeat of last time.” Kuroo went to sit on his bed, leaning back onto his pillow and looking at Yaku’s back. He was in black sweatpants and shirtless.

 _Last time… Oh yeah, last time wasn’t fun._ Yaku sighed, turning in his chair to look at Kuroo with a smile, “Get your wet ass head off my pillow, Kuroo. And I won’t let what happened last time happen again. I’m older now, remember? No attachments!”

“Uh huh, sure. Now get ready for work. You are gonna be late and you are the one who is gonna pay the bills.” Kuroo got up, walking over to ruffle Yaku’s hair but made sure to shake his hair out. He swatted his hand away and watched Kuroo walk out of the room.

Yaku took a second to wake up, but gathered clothes to go shower. Kenma had told him that the dress code was casual, just to keep his colors neutral and nothing too bright and attention seeking. This made Yaku inwardly sigh, bright and attention seeking was the cornerstone of his fashion. But too much to his argument, he settled on a tan pair of trousers and a loose fitting cream turtleneck instead of his reds and blacks. Neutral colors always made Yaku uncomfortable, due to his warm brown hair and soft eyes. He used to always say he looked like a roasted marshmallow in tans, and Kuroo never helped by agreeing.

As Yaku stepped into the shower, he hissed when the cold water hit his back. _Fucking Kuroo taking all the hot water._ Yaku hurried to get out of the shower, hastily washing his hair and body. Getting out was the best feeling, the warm air engulfing him. He hurried to get dressed and was heading to put his shoes on when Kuroo came into the living room.

“There wasn’t enough hot water and I’m going to kill you when I get back home.” Yaku said with a sweet smile, making a shiver run down Kuroo’s spine.

“Sorry Yaku, I was feeling myself and--”

“Do you ever think before you speak?” Yaku asked, pulling on his last shoe.

Kuroo smiled, looking back at Yaku, “Me? Think? Oh buddy, you are funny.”

“Guess that answers my question.” Yaku grumbled, standing and wrapping his scarf around his neck. Yaku left before Kuroo had time to respond, closing the door and locking it behind him. He turned, coming face to face with the loudest neighbor.

The orange haired boy was standing by his door, staring over at Yaku. He was wearing a black hoodie underneath a flannel and jean jacket and light wash jeans, a white scarf wrapped around his neck as well. He was the same height as Yaku, but looked more like a child than any other boy Yaku had seen living on his own and without parents.

“H-Hi! I’m Hinata, I’ve been meaning to come over and meet you guys!” The boy started, rushing over to Yaku. He was in his personal bubble almost instantly.

“No, it’s fine. We haven’t been the best neighbors either!” Yaku replied, waving off Hinata.

“Well, now that we’ve met, we just have to get the grumpies to meet! Well, at least Kageyama is a grumpy pants. Not sure about the tall scary man you live with is or not!” Hinata joked, looking back at his door to his apartment. Yaku let out a soft chuckle, shaking his head.

“Oh trust me, Kuroo can be a grump too. Just don’t talk to him before noon, he killed a man when he woke him up at seven in the morning.” Yaku warned, making Hinata jump.

“H-He killed a m-man?!”

“I’m kidding, Hinata.”

“O-Oh…”

Yaku smiled a little bit when he saw the boy relax. He turned, pulling out his phone and inserting a headphone into his ear, hoping Hinata was done talking to him.

“Y-Yaku, wait up!”

_Fuck._

Yaku stopped and turned, watching the boy jog to catch up to him.

“Where are you off to this morning?” Hinata asked as they walked down the stairs to their floor. Yaku just wanted to walk to work in peace.

“Work, you?”

“The ice rink! I’m teaching a lesson for beginner figure skaters!” Hinata brimmed, making Yaku smile.

“Oh! Are you a skater as well?” Yaku asked, wishing the boy would go the opposite direction than him.

“I am! My friend Lev taught me!”

There was the name again. _Apparently its a small fucking world, Yaku._

“Must be fun.” Yaku forced a smile.

“Enough about me! Where do you work, Yaku?”

“The coffee shop down the street from the university--”

“WHA?! YOU WORK AT PAW-FEE BREAK?! I WORK RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET!!” Hinata shouted, making Yaku wince. He was going to be deaf by the time he got to work.

“Y-Yeah, I do.”

“I’ll walk with you then! I could use a coffee anyways! Ours at home broke because Kageyama got mad at it and ended up hitting it a little too hard!” Hinata laughed, making Yaku laugh with him.

“Wait wait wait, so Kageyama kept hitting the coffee machine when it wouldn’t work in the first place?” Yaku asked, looking over at Hinata hoping he would say Kageyama wasn’t that stupid.

“Yeah, he isn’t the brightest. Super super smart when he is at work, not too smart the rest of the time. He just thinks about food or Kageyama things, never smart stuff.” Hinata shrugged, taking a corner sharply. They walked through the park that the apartments overlooked, making Hinata look over at Yaku and gaping. As they were walking, Hinata kept stealing glances at Yaku. He blended in with the cherry blossoms almost perfectly, his warm brown hair getting ruffled by the wind and his cream colored clothing making his eyes pop. He was in his element, creating a calming and warm presence around him.

“Remind me not to let him around our coffee machine.” Yaku laughed, making Hinata jump, “So, are you the only two who live over there?”

“Oh no, we have two more roommates. Suga and Nishinoya, but Suga is in the process of moving out with his boyfriend, Daichi. He’s pretty nice, but once he leaves then the kids are on their own.” Hinata laughed.

“So soon there will be three people in the house?” Yaku asked, thinking back to the last couple days, “So, can I ask a favor of you guys next door?”

“What’s up?”

“Could you guys just be a little quieter after say...midnight? I’ve had to stop Kuroo from going over there a couple times.” Yaku laughed, making Hinata go pale.

“I am so so sorry. I think you are talking about the night we played UNO! I’m so so so so so sorry Yaku! W-We get into UNO and we’ve had noise complaints in the past! Here, here is my number, just text me if we are being too loud!” Hinata bowed and held out his phone to Yaku, making Yaku laugh even harder. He took his phone and put his contact information in, as well as handing his phone over to Hinata as well.

“No no, it’s fine. Just try to tone it down a bit! Or invite us over!” Yaku smiled, making the worried look on Hinata’s face disappear.

“Will do! Noya and Suga would be happy to have you guys over! They’ve been waiting to meet you guys too!”

They hit the campus, and then the coffee shop. They walked in together, making Kenma look up from behind the counter. He smiled when he saw the two walk in, but directed his attention over to Hinata.

“Shouyo! Hi!” Kenma offered a small wave, not looking at Yaku.

“Is this the kind, warm hearted welcome I’ll get every day Kenma?” Yaku joked, making Kenma look at him and mutter an apology. Yaku just smiled, walking into the shop and into the back room to leave the two friends in peace. He shrugged off the jacket he had stolen from Kuroo and put it into a locker, along with the scarf he had laced around his neck. He walked back out, seeing that Hinata had disappeared and now he and Kenma were the only ones in the shop.

“So, training--” Kenma started, stopping when Yaku let out a little laugh.

“I got it, I worked in a coffee shop at my old school. I know how everything works.” He smiled, making Kenma let out a relieved sigh.

“Thank god, I had to teach Taketora how to use the whip cream thing and he made a huge mess.” Kenma let a small smile tug at the corner of his lips, making Yaku smile.

“He seems like an interesting guy.” Yaku replied, making Kenma let out a huff.

“More like stupid. He and this kid that comes in from time to time have this weird rivalry over his girlfriend. It’s kinda funny to watch but at the same time he pisses me off.” Kenma shrugged, watching the people passing by the shop.

“Well, let’s hope there aren't any whip cream accidents today.” Yaku smiled, grabbing a cloth and wiping down a counter.

“Let’s hope there is no Lev either.” Kenma huffed, making Yaku whip his head around.

“Why no Lev?” He asked, Kenma meeting his look with a grimace.

“Because I’m really not wanting to deal with him today. He is just obnoxious and someone I don’t want to see today.”

But as if he knew he was being talked about, Lev walked in.

“Kenma!” Lev announced as he walked through the door, making Kenma jump. Yaku looked over, his gaze meeting the emerald eyes that were bearing holes through him.

He was tall, too tall, too fucking tall for Yaku. He couldn’t even see over this man’s shoulder. The giant was dressed warmly, a collared shirt under an oversized green sweater, making his green eyes pop even more. His hair was pushed back with a few plain black clips, drawing the skin around his eyes upwards into a slant. Loose jeans hugged his slim hips, but relaxed through his thighs and the rest of his legs. The sneakers he was wearing squeaked against the linoleum floor as he halted to a stop when he saw Yaku.

 _He’s so short…_ Lev thought immediately when he saw the boy standing next to Kenma. His short brown hair was disheveled, but not unruly. His brown eyes met with Lev’s softly, but there was something behind them that Lev wasn’t sure what was hiding. His cream colored turtleneck fit loosely, making a shadow against the boy’s pale skin and making Lev want to fix the collar that was folded down. The boy came up to Lev’s shoulder, causing Lev to have an urge to reach out and pat him.

_Fuck, he’s cute. Really cute, I wonder if his hands are as small as he is-- Or his hooded eyes in the dark-- the bedroom--_

“Hey Lev, your usual?” Kenma asked Lev with a snappy tone, drawing Lev out of his R-rated daydream. Lev sputtered, choking on his words.

“Y-Yes please-- Wait actually can I do my hot chocolate with instant beans--” Lev struggled to speak. The short boy let out a sharp laugh. _His laugh…_

“You mean instant coffee? The shit of commoners?” The short boy talked with a harsh tone, making Lev go red.

“Yaku! No cursing!” Kenma scolded.

“Y-Yeah, that’s what I meant.” _His voice…_

“Yeah, it’ll be a few minutes.” Kenma waved him off to the booth that Lev usually occupied every Saturday morning.

Lev took a seat and looked at the back of the boy that just spoke. His eyes drifted between the new kid and Kenma, his body wanting to go back and start asking this new kid question after question. _How tall are his parents? Is that average here? Even Kenma is taller than him, even if it’s by an inch or two-- Why does he have such a nice voice? Can I see his hands? Are his arms tiny?_

A sound of the bell pulled Lev from his thought, looking over at the door that had just opened. A tall blonde and a smaller brunette walked in, looking around the coffee shop. The taller boy looked like he was looking for someone until the shorter one tugged on his sleeve, making him look down and smile at him, but there was unspoken tension around the two.

“Welcome! I’ll be right there!” The short boy behind the counter called out, making Lev’s attention whip back over to him. He had a concentrated look on his face as he hovered over Lev’s cup with a can of whip cream. Kenma was watching him carefully, making sure the boy didn’t give Lev too much whip cream because he knew he hated too much.

The other occupants of the shop walked to the counter, looking at the menu. The small boy soon lidded the cup and handed it to Kenma, wiping his hands on the apron he had around his waist and looking up at the two boys that were standing by the counter.

“T-Tsukishima?!”

“Yaku?!”  
\-------

Yamaguchi was pissed. The second the boy behind the counter said Tsukishima’s name, his protectiveness shot.

“You two know each other?” Yamaguchi looked up at Tsukishima with a threatening smile, making the blonde swallow hard.

“U-Uh, yeah, we met a couple years ago.” Tsukishima looked at Yamaguchi, choosing his words carefully. He shot the _I’ll tell you later_ look to Yamaguchi in hopes that his companion wouldn’t kill him in cold blood in the middle of the coffee shop.

“Huh, you never told me.” Yamaguchi gave Yaku a murderous smile, threatening him to step a toe out of line.

“It’s been awhile. How have you been?” Yaku asked Tsukishima and tried to ignore the boy next to him threatening a muder sentence, a loving smile on his face. It’s been six years since he had seen his underling and would’ve never fathomed meeting him in a coffee shop of all places.

“I’ve been...okay. Never a dull moment with school.” Tsukishima answered without enthusiasm. He looked down to see Yamaguchi with his sleeve in hand, knuckles white.

Tsukishima almost never saw Yamaguchi jealous, but when he did, his whole world stopped. It stopped for two reasons, one was because he was waiting until the day Yamaguchi went ham and punched someone, and the second was because of how beautiful Yamaguchi looked. Narrowed eyes he only saw when he was focusing on something really hard, the slightest grit of the teeth when he forced a smile, and the faint blush that made his freckles blend in. Tsukishima could watch him all day if he could, but now wasn’t the best time to be starting lovingly and the smaller boy.

“I see you’ve been doing good. No sign of weakness.” Yaku smirked, throwing a glance over at Yamaguchi. The primary source of energy and power for succubi was sexual intercourse and physical touch, and seeing Tsukishima in such a good state with this boy by his side made Yaku curious about what their relationship really was.

“I could say the same about you, Yaku.” Tsukishima replied, taking Yamaguchi’s hand in his. He felt Yamaguchi relax a bit, hearing a soft sigh coming from his direction. Tsukishima lazily ran his thumb along Yamaguchi’s knuckles without a second thought.

“Well now, haven’t you changed into a caring little shit.” Yaku teased, drawing a laugh from both Tsukishima and Yamaguchi. He shot a look at Yamaguchi, amazement coating his expression.

“He is a very caring little shit.” Yamaguchi egged Yaku on, making Yaku want to embarrass the shit out of the tall blonde that looked like he wanted to crawl into a hole and die.

“I’m glad you were the one who got to him.” Yaku offered a smile to Yamaguchi, earning one back from the boy.

Yamaguchi relaxed when he deemed that Yaku wasn’t a threat. He knew Tsukishima wasn’t of human origin, making Yamaguchi suspect that this Yaku character wasn’t human either.

“So, what can I get for you two?” Yaku asked, looking at Yamaguchi before he met Tsukishima’s gaze.

“Could I take a small--” Yamaguchi was cut off.

“Yaku, surprise us. We’ll be right back.” Tsukishima pulled Yamaguchi out of the shop and around into a small alleyway beside the building.

“Excuse me?” Yamaguchi asked, raising an eyebrow at Tsukishima’s sudden erratic behavior.

“I-- He-- Hi.” Tsukishima was at a loss of words.

“Yes? I don’t speak Tsukki when Tsukki talks like this.” He narrated in third person, making Tsukishima go red.

“You look pretty and I’m sorry for not telling you about the people I’ve known in the past.” Tsukishima looked at Yamaguchi with pained eyes.

“Oh my god, you did not just drag me out of the shop just to tell me that. What’s wrong?” Yamaguchi put his hands on his hips, staring Tsukishima down.

“I--”

“Is this about last night?” Yamaguchi asked, giving Tsukishima a stern look.

Last night, they had gotten into a fight that ended up with Tsukishima sleeping on the couch. It was over late nights and not being home in time for dinner. School had taken up a lot of Yamaguchi’s time because of an upcoming meteor shower that was supposed to take place in two weeks. The university had decided to keep the astronomy students longer to try to track the start and end times of the shower, and that had caused Yamaguchi to come home later and later each night. The night before last he was home at eleven, but last night he didn’t get home until two in the morning.

The two boys had promised that they would always be home before dinner, which takes place at seven in the shared household, and had the agreement that they would send the other a text regarding whether they would be home or not and if they wanted the other to save a plate. But Yamaguchi had forgotten to text two nights in a row. That resulted in an argument and some words that Tsukishima wished he could take back.

“I-- Yeah, it is. Well, that and--”

“Tsukki, how many times did I tell you not to worry about it? I told you this morning that I was sorry and hoped you would forgive my mistake. I can’t go through my day with you like this.” Yamaguchi teased, pinching Tsukishima’s cheek.

“I know-- I just--”

“Kei, trust me, it’s fine. Now can we please get back in there and pay so I can make it to work on time?” Yamaguchi teased, poking Tsukishima in the cheek.

They went back inside, only to see Lev standing over by Yaku trying to talk to him. It was a comedic scene, tall limbs draped across the counter as the smaller boy tried to do his job in silence.

“That poor boy isn’t gonna get anywhere with Yaku.” Tsukishima whispered, making Yamaguchi snicker.

“It’ll be some good entertainment then, isn’t it?”

“Definitely.”

\------

Lev was on Yaku’s last nerve and he had only been around him for less than twenty minutes. The giant had migrated across the room, following Yaku on the other side of the counter asking him intrusive questions.

“How tall are your parents?”

“Don’t have them.”

“Okay...what about your hands, are they small?”

“I don’t know what you would classify as small, Lev.”

“What about your arms, are they long? You have to have one part that is long about you, your arms? Legs?”

“Lev, leave him alone.” Kenma butted in, making Yaku chuckle and Lev whine.

“But Kenma, he’s new! I gotta know him! And I gotta know if he is just short all around!”

This ticked Yaku off.

“The only short thing about me is my temper, Lev. And I suggest you watch yourself.” Yaku gave him a crooked smile, chilling Lev to the bone. _Scary…_

“S-Sorry,” Lev checked his watch and looked over at Yaku once more. He was too pretty for Lev to comprehend, “W-Well, I guess I’ll see you guys later. You know, work and all, can’t be late.” Lev laughed awkwardly, earning two looks that could only be described as sick of Lev’s shit.

“If you can’t be late, then go.” Kenma rolled his eyes, looking over at Yaku. He was staring at Lev, soon his eyes snapped to his wrist with a wince.

A burning sensation shot up Yaku’s arm, but he tried his best to ignore it, “Lev, just go. Wouldn’t want you to be late now, would we?” He looked down, rolling his sleeve up slightly. On his wrist, the number 365 was burned into his skin.

_Fuck, the countdown started._

“R-Right, well, thank you for the coffee beans!” Lev called out, soon turning to walk out the door. As he left, Yaku watched him walk across the street and into the building across the street.

“Is he always like that?” Tsukishima asked the boys behind the counter, making Kenma groan and nod.

“Yes, but today was definitely worse. Probably because he is a raging homosexual who has the hots for the short guy who threatened him.” Kenma let out a stiff laugh, looking over at Yaku.

Yaku just rolled his eyes and wiped off the countertops, ignoring the conversation that was happening three feet away from him,

“I mean, I don’t blame him. Raging homosexuality is very hard to control sometimes.” Yamaguchi joked, making Yaku burst into a fit of laughter.

“Who just asks someone about their hand size?!” Yaku asked, making Kenma and Yamaguchi laugh even harder. Tsukishima just looked at the three without a care in the world.

“A weirdo, that’s who.”

\-----

“Fuck, Hinata, why is he so god damn pretty?!” Lev was laying on the ice of the rink, Hinata leaning against the wall. The coldness of the ice against Lev’s back grounded him, preventing him into going into a full blown panic attack.

“Is this as bad as the day that I saw Kageyama with soot on his face?” Hinata asked, looking at Lev laying on the ground. Lev groaned, closing his eyes and letting out a heavy huff.

“No, this is worse. Have you seen Yaku?! He is like, so small and his pretty brown eyes remind me of chocolate and--”

“Is this a bad time to bring up the fact that I live next to him and walked to work with him?”

Lev was off the ground in an instant.

“WHAT?! YOU LIVE NEXT TO YAKU?!” Lev looked Hinata straight in the eye, making Hinata double over in laughter.

“Yeah, he just moved in. He lives with this scary lookin’ dude. Kinda creepy too, the dude, not Yaku. He seems nice. He gave me his number--”

“DID HE GIVE YOU HIS FIRST NAME?!”

“U-Uh, yeah. It’s Morisuke. Seems fitting.”

Lev was on cloud nine, but it was cloud nine 2.0 where he was freaking out.

“You have got to be kidding me. Did Suga say anything about him? He has a good judge of character and--”

“Suga hasn’t met them yet, neither has Nishinoya, and Lev please take a chill pill. You are acting like that time that you had a crush on Mei.” Hinata looked at the boy who seemed like he was having an internal battle with himself, holding in a fit of laughter. Lev flopped back dramatically, making Hinata laugh.

“Oi, shut up. Just let me have my moment!” Lev stared at the ceiling, the ice soaking his back. It was one of his many grounding techniques, find something cold and then relax. Everyone had always thought it was weird but Hinata never said anything about it, making him appreciate the small boy as a friend even more.

“Hey, if this is a bad time to bring it up, but I think that he is actually here.” Hinata was looking over at the door.

Sure enough, Yaku was walking through the door, his scarf pulled over his mouth and shielding the small puffs of air that came from his mouth. Lev sat up, looking over the short wall that seperated tile from ice.

“H-Hey, Hinata? I just came over to ask something. Kuroo just set off the fire alarm and apparently it won’t go off. Can he turn it off anyhow? Like, are they touchy?” Yaku walked up to the wall, looking solely at Hinata and refusing to acknowledge Lev. His eyes glanced quickly at Lev, making Lev go stiff.

_His eyes-- they were...glowing?_

“Shit! The fire alarms. Uh, yeah, you have to kinda hit them to shut them up. I dunno why the landlord hasn’t fixed yours yet, but ours were kinda sucky too.” He thought, his face scrunching in concentration.

Yaku turned his attention back to Hinata, his once scary look turning into a sweet smile, “Thank you! I’m sorry if I bother you with questions! New apartments and new landlords aren’t my thing!”

“It’s all good! Oh, by the way, I think my roommates and I were planning on having a game night with all of their significant others tonight! Would you and Rooster Head like to come over and meet the gang?” Hinata asked, his usual chirpy attitude set to full blast. This was how Hinata suckered people into coming over, sinking his talons into another with a positive atmosphere and then shanking them.

“Rooster Head? Oh! I’ll see. Kuroo might not be up for it unless you guys are playing old people games like Scrabble. He is kind of a nerd like that. I’ll see if I can drop by after work.” Yaku smiled, offering a small wave as he turned on his heel and walked out. Lev was staring at his back when Hinata turned to him.

“You fucking owe me, you awkward tall ass.” Hinata smirked, making Lev shiver.

“What do you mean?” He asked, looking up at Hinata.

“He’s swinging by my apartment, where he also lives, and we are having a game night. A game night that you are usually invited too. So either come over to see your boo or don’t say I don’t do anything for you.” Hinata smiled, watching Lev process the information that was just given to him.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you! I legit cannot thank you enough, oh my god. Do you think he is gay? Do you think he likes boys?” Lev asked, making Hinata’s head spin.

“Lev, how do you know you like boys? Have you figured yourself out?” Hinata asked, stopping Lev in his tracks.

“I-- Well, I don’t know. How did you know you liked Kageyama?” Lev answered, standing up and leaning against the wall.

Saturday mornings were pretty quiet. A lot of kids came in around noon or later, meaning that the two buys had the rink to themselves the first five hours of the day. In that time, they either studied or skated, or sometimes they laid in the office talking about school and family problems. They made their way to the office, Lev grabbing his ice skates and Hinata shedding his jean jacket. Lev abandoned his top layer, leaving him in a white button up shirt and pants, but soon he was stripped down to a black undershirt and compression tights.

“What, are you actually gonna go skate?” Hinata teased, looking at Lev’s skates in hand.

“Hey, don’t judge!” Lev whined, shifting uncomfortably. He never skated unless he was worried or had something on his mind. It was always an escape for him, letting his mind wander and focusing only on the ways landing on his feet made him feel.

“I’m not, it’s just nice to see you actually going to do something you love.” Hinata shrugged, pulling out a thick textbook. Economy. His worst subject in school. He was going to get his degree in social sciences, but decided to take economics for the fun of it and now that he was enrolled, he couldn’t fail or get out of it.

“Uh huh, funny you say that while you pull out your econ book with a smile.” Lev teased back, making Hinata grimace.

“Hey, I need this class for a scholarship chance, okay? Leave me alone.” He huffed and rolled his eyes, making Lev let out a sharp laugh.

“Okay okay, I’ll leave you alone.” And with that, he walked out of the office and onto the ice, leaving his problems on solid ground and all thoughts of the pretty boy who was less than fifty feet away.

\-------

365 days. 365 days was the amount of days Yaku had left to kill Lev. It was the start of a year, a year that Yaku knew was going to be difficult.

_Don’t get attached, don’t get attached, don’t get attached Yaku._

But the second the boy walked into the coffee shop, Yaku knew he was done for. He was ditzy, the only thing that Yaku HAD a thing for.

He walked back over to the coffee shop, welcoming its smells and it’s warmth. Yaku gave a curt nod to Kenma behind the counter and set off to do his tasks around the small building, clearing out the dirty dishes to sweeping.

Yaku loved the quiet mornings, he was never a morning person anyways, so the fact he could come to work and not be bothered was the best thing that a job could ever offer to him.

But soon that silence was broken.

It was roughly an hour after Yaku had gotten back over to the coffee shop initially, meaning that both Kenma and Yaku were waiting for someone to come in, Kenma playing on his phone and Yaku reading while sitting on the counter quietly. But soon, a blur shot by the windows, then another, then the two doubled back. Yaku knew one of them was Hinata by the flaming orange hair, but the other blur was dark brown.

Hinata burst into the coffee shop, panting, while the other blur shot in past him and to the counter. Yaku yelped, soon being greeted with a face in front of him. The boy was short, the same height as Yaku himself, with a welcoming smile that had a sense of mischief to it. His hair laid flat against his head, styled so that the blonde streaks stood out against the dark brown.

“Hey Shouyo, Nishinoya.” Kenma greeted, making Yaku’s jaw drop. This was Nishinoya?

“Kenma! And…new kid??” The smaller boy, Nishinoya, looked Yaku up and down. Yaku stared back, refusing to break the eye contact that Nishinoya held.

“Not new kid! This is Yaku, he is also the new person that just moved in next to us!” Hinata explained, making Nishinoya smile.

“Oh! The short guy! I knew you looked sorta familiar!” Nishinoya smiled, ruffling the back of his hair and making it stick out in weird different directions.

“You’ve met?” Hinata asked, looking over at the other boy.

Nishinoya shook his head, “No, but I saw them moving in and they ordered in a few times. It came to my orders but since they were so close to home, the company didn’t let me take them because apparently we can’t deliver to the apartment complexes we live in.” Nishinoya let out a small huff, rolling his eyes and stomping a foot.

“So you watched us move in? That’s a little creepy.” Yaku teased, making Nishinoya shrug.

“Hey, curiosity killed the cat.” He smiled, making Hinata let out a soft laugh.

“Enough about that! I just wanted to stop by and drop off a meat bun! They were the big hype in high school when we used to go to the school! One of our old coaches owns the small store on the corner and makes homemade meat buns! I just grabbed a beef one because you can never go wrong with beef!” Hinata bristled with approval, handing over a paper bag to Yaku. He looked at the bag before taking it, appalled by the kindness he had gotten out of Hinata in less than a day.

“Thank you Hinata, I’ll be sure to repay you tomorrow.” Yaku smiled, getting waved off.

“Don’t mention it! The only payback I ask is that you come over tonight. Kageyama is supposed to be home early with Daichi and Nishinoya said that Asahi, his tentative boyfriend--”

“Hinata! I already told you, we aren’t romantically involved!” Nishinoya snapped, making Hinata let out a laugh.

“You two act more lovey dovey than Daichi and Suga! You can’t tell me you two aren’t a thing!”

Nishinoya grumbled and rolled his eyes, “And if I were to tell you that we weren’t dating, but figuring it out? Will you stop bugging me then?”

“Yep! Anyways, all we ask is that you and Rooster Head come over tonight and meet the gang. Maybe stick around for a few games and possibly dinner!” Hinata smiled, turning on his heel to walk out of the shop. Yaku chuckled, rolling his eyes and sending a nod over in Nishinoya’s direction.

The two were out of the shop as quick as they came in.

“Do they always have that much energy? That’s just….ridiculous.” Yaku asked once they were gone, turning towards Kenma. He just offered a small nod and a nose scrunch.

“Sadly. And trust me, it’ll only get worse. There is this one kid who comes in all the time and will not stop annoying the poor boy who studies in the corner booth.” Kenma told Yaku, earning a soft laugh from the other.

“Well, I can’t wait to meet the regulars.”

“I’m sure they will be happy to meet you as well.” Kenma sighed, looking out the window.

\----

Nishinoya Yuu was always a handful of energy, especially for the people around him. He was always moving and going, excitable and over the top.

“So, how is the thing with Asahi going?” Hinata asked him as they walked out of the coffee shop towards home.

Yeah, Asahi. He was a boy who was a year older than Nishinoya, and they had known each other since high school. They’ve always had a fling, ever since Nishinoya latched onto his timid nature. Asahi was tall, maybe six foot even, and looked scary. Long hair that was usually pulled up into a bun and a scruff on his chin, he looked terrifying to the normal person, his stocky build not helping the matter.

“It’s… complicated at best. We’ve seen each other a bit but when I told him I dropped out of school…” Nishinoya started, his calmer side coming out. The thought of Asahi always brought out his timidness.

“How is that going by the way? The school thing?” He looked over at the other boy, a soft smile tugging at his lips.

“It’s going great, actually! The cosmetology school understood where I was coming from, and the pizza place was hiring so I’m just really living through that. I’m thinking about applying to a beauty store since I know hair products but--” Nishinoya stopped, looking at the ground. He wanted to be a hairdresser, but his severe ADHD caused him from being able to do that. After dropping out, he and Asahi had gotten into a huge fight. Asahi wanted him to finish school, but Nishinoya didn’t have the heart to tell him why he actually dropped out. Things had gotten hard and medication was hard to come by these days that didn’t make him anxious or depressed.

“That’s good! I know Lev was worrying about you for a second there. He really likes to see you!” Hinata smiled, nudging Nishinoya in the side. They continued walking home, soon passing a small flower shop.

“Think Suga is working? Or think he is with Daichi?” Nishinoya asked, looking through the glass doors of the florist shop.

“If he hasn’t yelled at you for touching the glass, he is probably with Daichi.” Hinata laughed, pulling on the door handle and opening it for the other. They walked in and instantly regretted it.

Two boys, no older than him, were in the middle of a makeout session. The smaller one was hoisted up onto the countertop, the taller between his legs.

“Or-- he’s with Daichi at work. Oh my god, ew, you two get a fucking room!” Nishinoya screeched, making the two pull away from each other instantly. They looked at the other two with wide eyes, both of them panting.

“I-- Noya-- Hinata-- I can explain.” The smaller boy started, pulling away from the darker haired one. The other just smiled, pulling the fair haired back into him.

“They know, Suga. It’s fine, we just need to be sneakier.” Daichi teased, burying his nose into Suga’s neck and causing the smaller boy to go beet red.

“Daichi!” Suga whipped around, smacking the other’s arm.

The four boys laughed, two being embarrassed and the other two enjoying their embarrassment.

“Sorry, sorry. You two just dropped in to be obnoxious or was there a point?” Daichi looked at Nishinoya and Hinata with a curious look.

“We just wanted to let you know that we are hosting game night tonight. The neighbors are coming.” Hinata beamed, making Suga gape.

“You met the neighbors?” Suga asked, looking between Hinata and Nishinoya.

“Yeah, well, one of them. He seems nice--” Nishinoya shrugged, getting cut off.

“Yaku is super super nice! I walked to work with him this morning!” Hinata cut in, making Suga smile.

“Well that’s nice to hear! I wonder what the other one is like.” He thought for a second, Daichi looking at him. He went pale, looking back up at Nishinoya and Hinata.

“Are they murderers?” Daichi asked, making the other three laugh.

“Daichi, really?” Suga asked, making Daichi stiffen.

“Suga, really.”

“Oh, is it okay if I invite Asahi over? If he wants to come, of course.” Nishinoya asked, getting a smile from Suga and Daichi. They had known the giant since highschool, the same as Nishinoya.

“Yeah, that’s okay. I don’t mind.” Suga smiled along with Daichi, “I haven’t seen him since you dropped the news on him.”

“Yeah yeah, stop making me feel guilty, mom.” Nishinoya waved him off, making Hinata snicker.

“Can I invite Lev over too? I think he has a thing for the short neighbor.” Hinata laughed, making Nishinoya freeze.

“Oh no, that poor tall bean pole.” Nishinoya shot a look over at Hinata.

“What? What do you mean oh no?” Hinata asked, looking over at Suga and Daichi.

“Yaku? That boy is gonna chew and spit Lev out in a second. I’ve seen his type. Reminds of that one dude from high school. Kyotani? I think it was his name? Just a lot...more mean on the downlow? If that makes sense?” Nishinoya looked over at Suga and Daichi, seeing the realization on their faces.

“Oh, god no. Lev doesn’t stand a chance.” Daichi shook his head, biting back a smile.

“Not at all.” Suga added.

“So, should I not invite Lev?” Hinata asked, making the three laugh.

“Do it, it would be good entertainment.” Suga smirked, causing Daichi to recoil a bit.

“You’re terrifying when you scheme.” Daichi told the smaller boy, earning a snicker in response.

\------

**_From: Nishinoya_ **

**_Hey Asahi, I know we haven’t talked in a while. Just wanted to check in and see how you were. Also, we are having game night, I know you enjoyed the last one and just wanted to offer an invitation :p I loaf you and hope to see you tonight!! <33_ **

Asahi looked down at his phone and decided to have an existential crisis right there. Nishinoya texted, which always caused two reactions. Happiness and floating on cloud nine or the other that was panic. This time it was panic. _He really texted me._ Asahi let out a soft sigh, staring at the text message, trying to figure out what he wanted to say in a reply. Did he want to go to game night? Did he want to see Nishinoya after the fight? After he said some of the things he did?

Even before thinking, Asahi shot back another text.

**_To: Nishinoya_ **

**_Yeah, that sounds like a plan. Need me to bring anything? What time?_ **

**_From: Nishinoya_ **

**_Just yourself! Well, maybe pizza if you are reaalllyyyy feeling nice! Can’t wait to see you!_ **

Asahi smiled at his phone and rolled his eyes, tugging at one of his fly away hairs.

**_To: Nishinoya_ **

**_Uh huh, course. Can’t wait to see you too, loaf you <3_ **

Nishinoya stared at his phone. He was laying on the couch, stretched out with his phone being held above his face. He reread the text, then a second time, then a third. He sat up, meeting eyes with Hinata who was sitting across from him on the floor counting cards.

“What?” He asked, scrunching his eyebrows in confusion at Nishinoya.

“He--He responded.” Nishinoya told Hinata, making Hinata offer a small smile.

“That’s good--”

“HE SAID I LOAF YOU BACK!!” Nishinoya screeched at the top of his lungs, shooting off the couch.

“Yay?”

“I’VE BEEN TRYING TO GET HIM TO SAY IT BACK SINCE FUCKING HIS THIRD YEAR!” Nishinoya screamed, making Hinata laugh.

“Okay okay, calm down. Is he coming?” He asked, making Nishinoya nod furiously.

“Yeah! He is!”

\-----------

**_From: Hinata_ **

**_Hey Lev! I was wondering, we are having a game night tonight with the roommates plus a few people. Would you wanna come? I can send you the address and I’m sure you could stay over if you don’t work tomorrow :)_ **

Lev didn’t check his phone until after the afternoon classes. But when he did, his entire body went into shock.

 _He invited me to game night? Seriously...am I gonna go? With that short kid next door?_ Lev thought to himself, pacing in the office of the ice rink. In seconds, his phone rang.

“Hello?” Lev answered, not bothering to check the screen since he knew it was Hinata. But instead, a soft voice greeted Lev.

“Hi, Lev, is it? Hinata asked me to call for some reason. Just to check up on you and see if you were coming.”

_Yaku._

“Uh, yeah, I’m planning on it. I was gonna stop by home and change really quick though--”

“LEV GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE!” Hinata yelled from the background, earning a chuckle from Yaku and Lev.

“I think it’s fine if you just jet from wherever you are to here. Hinata is pretty dead set on you coming.” Yaku chuckled, making Lev space out and listen to the boy over the phone. He sounded softer, more cautious over the phone.

“Alright, thank you for calling and checking up on me, Yaku.” Lev replied softly, making Yaku let out a soft noise.

“Y-Yeah, no problem.” Yaku reassured, hanging up the phone.

Lev was left in silence, staring at the phone in his hand flabbergasted. Yaku had just called him. Lev looked to his contacts and realized he had taken a call from an unknown number. Yaku’s number.

He let out a soft screech, saving Yaku’s number and collecting his things. He had changed back into his jeans and sweater, leaving his dress shirt off when he was done. He walked out of the ice rink, setting his sights on Hinata’s apartment.

\----

It didn't take Lev too long to get there, and Yaku had guessed it was because of his long legs. As Lev walked in, Yaku was heading back over to his apartment to collect Kuroo and change into something he hadn’t worn to work. Lev met Yaku’s eyes, offering a soft smile to the smaller boy.

“Hi,” Lev started, but all thoughts left his mind. He was taken aback by Yaku for the third time today.

“Hey, can I-- uh, slip past you really quick? I need to run over and get my roommate.” Yaku asked, not trying to get through the doorway that Lev was currently standing in the middle of.

“O-Oh shit, uh yeah. Sorry.” Lev stepped out of the way, letting Yaku out. The small boy went up to Lev’s shoulder, meaning that Lev was about a foot taller than him.

“You’re fine. Hinata has been asking for you. Nishinoya went to go get Asahi and Suga and Daichi are stopping by to get Dixie, Kageyama’s dog, and Kageyama.” Yaku told him, heading over to his door and knocking softly.

A taller man, about Lev’s height but a bit shorter, answered the door and wrapped Yaku into a huge hug. Lev felt his heart deflate.

“How was the baby's first day?!” The taller man nuzzled Yaku, rubbing his cheek against the other’s.

“Kuroo, I will fucking kick you. Get off. Sorry Lev, tell Hinata we’ll be right over after I rip this asshole a new one.” Yaku smiled sweetly over at Lev, shoving Kuroo off him. Lev offered a small smile in return, but when he walked into the apartment, his smile disappeared.

“So, he does like boys but he’s dating someone.” Lev told Hinata somewhere in the apartment. In an instant, Hinata was in front of him with an armful of games.

“Yaku?? Rooster Head? They are dating? No way, he just told me that Rooster Head had a thing for a college student.” Hinata told Lev, making Lev even more confused.

“But--”

“Lev, they are friends, stop thinking so much.” Hinata waved him off, walking off to the living room. Lev took his shoes off and followed Hinata into the room, “Hey, can you go grab some games from the closet? They are on the top shelf and neither Yaku or I could snatch them.”

“Yeah, I can do that.” Lev snickered, grabbing a few games from the shelf, “What are we gonna play tonight? What are the options?”

“Well, Yaku said that he and Kuroo play Scrabble all the time, but I told them that smart games aren’t really our forte over here.” Hinata laughed, making Lev smile. _So Yaku is smart, I should’ve guessed that._

“So, I’m assuming we are playing Cards Against Humanity because we need to gauge how terrible they are.” Lev joked, making Hinata whip around.

“SHIT YEAH THAT’S ACTUALLY A GOOD IDEA!!” Hinata scrambled through the games, trying to find the box that held the game.

“Really Hinata, you didn’t think about that?” Lev chuckled.

“No! I didn’t!” Hinata laughed, falling back onto the couch, “I haven’t had the smartest day, okay!”

Soon, the door opened and a crowd walked in, being led by a large Dalmation. Kageyama chased the dog into the room, being followed by Daichi and Suga walking hand in hand.

“Dixie! Stop!” Kageyama scolded, making the two others laugh. Dixie, the Dalmation, leaped onto the couch next to Hinata, earning a laugh from the boy.

“Dixie! How was work, sweetie?” Hinata laughed, scratching behind Dixie’s ears. The dog was wagging her tail, thwapping Lev in the leg.

“Really, you ask how Dixie’s day was but not mine? Ouch, that hurts.” Kageyama pouted, making his way over to his dog and boyfriend. He sat on the other side of Hinata, throwing his head back onto the couch and stretching out, making Hinata lean into him.

“You big baby. Fine, how was your day, Mr. Grumpy Gills?” Hinata asked, making Lev snicker. Kageyama rolled his eyes in response, reaching over to ruffle Hinata’s hair.

“He was grumpy when we got to the station.” Daichi offered, making Suga snicker.

“Yeah, we didn’t do anything to him.” Suga reassured, making Hinata poke Kageyama in the cheek.

“What’s with you today?” He asked, making Kageyama’s scowl deepen.

“Nothing, what’s wrong with you today?”

“You are a child.”

“Am not.”

“Are too.”

A knock at the door silenced the five of them. Suga went to answer it, opening it to reveal Yaku and Kuroo standing outside, in mid-conversation about fish.

“It’s disgusting, you’re an old man I swear-- Oh, hi! I don’t think we’ve met!” Yaku stopped mid-sentence when he saw Suga at the door. He offered a hand to Suga, “I’m Yaku, this is Kuroo. I’m sorry if we are a little late.” He offered Suga a bright smile. Lev peeked over Suga’s shoulder, trying to see Yaku.

He had changed from his neutral colors into harsh ones, making his pale skin seem even paller than earlier. Yaku was in black oversized sweats, his hands tucked into the waistband. He had pulled the collar of his red hoodie up to his nose, a sign that Kuroo knew that meant he was cold, the hood up and covering his red ears. He looked smaller than before, Lev had guessed it was because of the taller boy next to him and the baggy clothes.

“You’re all good! Nishinoya and Asahi aren’t here yet so you aren’t late! Come on in, I’ll introduce you to the gang.” Suga smiled, opening the door wide to let the two in. Yaku led the way into the apartment, Kuroo following him timidly, looking at the five that were already in the apartment. He met eyes with Lev briefly, tugging on Yaku’s hood and soon earned a swat.

Lev couldn’t help but laugh when he saw the interaction. Yaku dealt with people the same as he had seen at the coffee shop, patiently until he hit his breaking point. He looked back to see Hinata smirking at him. Lev rolled his eyes and went to go sit on the floor, his back leaning against the spot where Dixie was occupying. She leaned down to give him a quick lick to the side of his face and turned, laying her head in Hinata’s lap.

“So, I’m Suga, Daichi is in the kitchen, the couch from left to right is Lev sitting on the floor,” Lev offered a small wave when Suga directed Yaku and Kuroo’s attention to them, earning a squint from Kuroo, “Dixie is the dog, I mean, I’m sure you could figure that out, Hinata and then Kageyama.” The two offered quick smiles, then turned back to each other finishing their argument from before.

Daichi walked out of the kitchen looking at his phone, a soft grin on his face. He walked up behind Suga, giving him a quick hug from behind and soon going to the door where Yaku and Kuroo were standing.

“Ah, I’m assuming you two are the neighbors.” Daichi smiled and looked Kuroo up and down, offering his hand to Kuroo for a handshake. Kuroo took it quickly, squeezing tightly, a sinister smile on his face. Daichi swallowed hard, looking at Kuroo with a blank expression.

“I haven’t seen you in a while, Samawara.” Kuroo smiled, making Daichi’s eye twitch.

“Likewise.” Daichi smiled, trying to keep his emotions at bay.

“You two know each other?” This time, Yaku asked the question. He had never seen Kuroo act this way with someone before.

“Yeah,” Kuroo smiled, soon lowering his voice to add, “I’ll tell you later.”

“It’s a long story.” Daichi smiled, looking back at Suga, “I need to go get Asahi and Noya, apparently they got lost.”

“Ah, yeah, see you later!” Suga smiled, offering a wave and trying to get rid of the awkward atmosphere in the room. Lev was sitting quietly on his phone, looking up when he saw movement out of the corner of his eye.

Suga had disappeared into the hallways, leaving the conversation. Yaku and Kuroo were walking into the living room, looking around and trying to find a spot to sit. Kuroo found a seat on the couch perpendicular to the couch that Hinata and Kageyama were sitting on, Yaku sitting on the floor in front of him. Lev looked over, seeing that he and Yaku were almost shoulder to shoulder.

Yaku looked over, meeting Lev’s green eyes with his and smiled sweetly, making Lev’s heart skip a beat. Kuroo leaned down, resting his arm on Yaku’s shoulder, looking over at Lev as well.

“As much as I don’t wanna interrupt this weird thing going on here, can I ask you guys a question?” Hinata broke the awkward silence, making the three boys look at him. Dixie raised her head as well, making Kageyama look up from his phone briefly.

“Yeah?” Lev smiled, thanking Hinata internally.

“So, did you guys move for school or work? Or, why did you guys move?’ Hinata asked, directing his question to Kuroo and Yaku.

“Work, mostly. Plus, we just didn’t really like the last place we were living.” Kuroo shrugged, making Yaku nod in agreement.

“Yeah, that and my old school wasn’t giving me what I needed to go into the field of work that I’m planning on going into.” Yaku added. The two had planned their answer to the tee in case someone asked why they had shown up in the city.

“Ah, what are you planning on going into?” Lev asked, his eyes lighting up.

“Microbiology. Kuroo was going for a chemistry degree but he decided he didn’t exactly like school.” Yaku teased, earning a harsh nudge from the other. Yaku let out a laugh, making Lev stare at him.

“That’s cool! I know Tsukishima dabbled a bit in biology for his paleontology degree!” Hinata beamed, making Lev snap out of his daydream.

“What about you three?” Kuroo asked, turning the question onto the asker.

“I’m majoring in sports medicine! Kageyama isn’t in school, he is a firefighter. He didn’t like school--” Hinata started, getting cut off by Kageyama.

“I can answer for myself, asshat. But yeah, I didn’t really like school so I just took the past of least resistance.” Kageyama shrugged, looking down at his phone.

“I’m majoring in photography.” Lev added, making Yaku look at him.

_He doesn’t seem like the type to be behind the camera. He’s handsome enough to model…_

“And I know what you’re thinking. I’m too pretty to be behind the camera.” Lev laughed, making Yaku’s eyes go wide.

“He doesn’t like extra attention and being recognized. In high school, his sister talked him into modeling with her for a commercial or something. He still gets recognized here and there!” Hinata added on, making Lev go red.

Yaku smiled softly, looking at Lev. He seemed like he would come from a famous family with the looks that he had.

“Hinata, stop!” Lev laughed, dragging a hand through his hair.

The group burst into laughter, making Suga pop his head out of his room. He walked back into the living room, claiming the love seat for himself.

As the conversation drifted from getting to know yous and jokes, Daichi, Nishinoya, and Asahi walked in. Asahi Daichi immediately joined Suga in the love seat, causing Suga to snuggle into his lap. Asahi and Noya took the rest of the couch, making Kuroo hug the arm of the couch to the best of his abilities.

“So, who wants to get this trainwreck rolling?”

\-------

In the end, Asahi and Suga sat out, watching the group yell and shout. Suga was curled up in the loveseat with Daichi, his head resting against Daichi’s shoulder with a glass of Rosé in hand. Asahi was sitting in between Nishinoya’s legs on the floor, serving as the final approval for the card to be placed onto the table. They had started not too long ago, but the house was already erupting with excitement.

The rules were that whoever didn’t end up winning the black card, they had to take a half shot of whiskey as punishment.

Some of them were two and a half shots in (those some being Nishinoya and Hinata), and a buzz had started going around the room.

“Okay okay okay! So the next black card,” Hinata started, slurring his words slightly, “Son, take it from someone who has been around the block a few times. Nothin’ puts her in the mood like blank.”

There was one card, then two more, and then three. Hinata looked at the cards on the table, picking them up slowly and reading them in his head. He let out a snort, then continued reading. The six playing all looked at Hinata, eyes wide.

“Okay, so.” Hinata tried to start, bursting out laughing again. The group huffed, sitting forward when Hinata regained himself, “Okay, nothing puts her in the mood like...SWEET PLUMP YELLOW MELONS WHAT?!”

“Hinata, just read all the cards, stop getting distracted!” Kageyama lectured, making Hinata let out a quick giggle.

“Fine fine, so sweet plump yellow melons. Then there is having sex with your mom,” A snort came from Nishinoya’s direction, “The ever present fear of death,” Silence, “Penis for breakfast. What? What the hell does that even-- Anyways, walls. Walls? Who played walls and who hurt you? And the last card is your outdated gender norms?” Hinata finished, looking at the cards in his hands.

“Nothing puts her in the mood like having sex with your mom, I have spoken.” Hinata placed the card on the table, Nishinoya letting out a hoot.

“HA! SEE MOM JOKES ARE STILL IN ASAHI!” Nishinoya took his black card, watching the rest of the players drink. Asahi rolled his eyes, ruffling Nishinoya’s hair.

“I never said they weren’t. I just said they were immature.” Asahi smiled, leaning back into the couch. Hinata snickered as he leaned back into Kageyama, Dixie now sitting with Lev on the floor.

“Okay, so it’s my turn?” Kuroo asked, leaning forward to grab a black card from the deck. He leaned over Yaku’s shoulder, trying to sneak a look at his cards.

“Are you really trying to look at my cards, you little fucking asshole?” Yaku smiled, smacking him in the arm, earning a laugh from Kuroo and Lev collectively.

“Okay, the card is ‘Unfortunately, no one can be told what blank is. You have to experience it for yourself.’ Dear god, I know this one personally.” Kuroo laughed, plunging the room into silence as the players picked their cards.

Kuroo looked at the cards when they were all in, they read:

_My math teacher’s bulge._

_The heart of a child._

Kuroo was sure that one was Yaku’s.

_A double murder suicide barbeque._

_Tiny sour kisses from a lemon dwarf._

_Letting a man do the talking._

Kuroo let out a snort. And finally, the last card read, _An older woman who knows her was around the penis._

Kuroo choked, and reread the card, a loud and obnoxious laugh coming from his mouth. “Who fucking put an older woman who knows her way around the penis?! Jesus Christ, are we gonna not let you be around old women anymore?!” Kuroo was losing his shit, but lost it even more when Daichi smiled wickedly.

“Yeah, I would keep old people away from me. Something just happens down there when I see people with grey hair.” Daichi smirked at Suga, earning a whack in the back of the head.

“I swear if you call me old one more fucking time, Daichi. I am only 25, fuck off.” Suga said with a smile, taking a sip of his wine. Daichi snickered, turning his head to kiss Suga on the neck quickly.

“Okay enough lovey dovey shit! Yaku, it’s your draw!” Nishinoya laughed, causing Yaku to draw a card.

“Blank. It changes everything.” Yaku read, looking at the pairs in the room. Hinata and Kageyama were laughing to themselves, placing cards down at the same time. Nishinoya was leaning forward, showing Asahi his cards and Asahi shaking his head to the card that Nishinoya played. Suga and Daichi were cuddled up, Suga looking out the window that was next to him and Daichi resting his head in between Suga’s shoulder and the chair, picking a card and playing it. Lev sat quietly, his green eyes flitting over the cards until he sighed and set one on the table. Kuroo reached over Yaku to play his. Soon all the cards were in.

_Mike Pence._

Kuroo’s card. He was the only one who knew who Mike Pence even was.

_How great my ass looks in these jeans._

_Full frontal nudity._

_The harsh reality that all horses are people in horse costumes._

_Hunks and babes as far as the eye can see._

And the last one, _funky fresh rhymes._

Yaku stared at the cards in his hand, letting out a snicker here and there, “Alright, who is talking about their ass in jeans cause I need to be the judge of that!” The alcohol started talking.

Lev let out a cough when Yaku said that, his face going red, “Please tell me you are kidding, Yaku.”

“What makes you think I’m kidding? Who played the card?”

“I did, Yaku. I played the card.” Lev’s ears started to go red.

“O-Oh.”

“AIGHT LEV, YAKU HAS SPOKEN! LEV SHOW HIM YOUR ASS!” Nishinoya shouted, making Daichi and Kuroo let out a fit of laughter.

“I- I was kidding! Lev, please don’t show me your ass, that’s a little weird. Here.” Yaku handed Lev his card, their fingers touching ever so slightly. Lev’s fingertips were burning, making Yaku draw back quicker than he intended too.

“Thank you. Alright, the next card is ‘Congratulations! You have been selected for our summer internship. While we are unable to offer a salary, we can offer you blank.” The cards were played and Lev looked at them quietly.

Everyone besides Asahi and Suga were at least three or four shots in, Hinata and Kageyama almost being shitfaced. Yaku was teetering on the edge of tipsy and drunk, while the rest of them were seeing a light buzz.

The cards were:

_A penis that gets too hard and explodes blood._

Disgusting…

_Pointing out the logical fallacies in your argument._

_Drowning in a sea of water._

_Replacing a man’s stapler with an exact replica of that stapler._

_Mark Zuckerberg._

_The hottest MILF in Dallas._

“What the fuck you guys. Seriously, what the mother fucking fuck is this shit? Mark Zuckerberg wins because I was not about to offer someone the hottest MILF in Dallas.” Lev laughed, Kageyama reaching over to take his card. The rest of them took a shot, Yaku wincing when the alcohol hit the back of his throat.

“Next card is ‘Feeling so grateful! Hashtag amazing, hashtag my life, hashtag blank’” Daichi read the card in a terrible valley girl rhetoric.

The boys placed cards on the table, Hinata showing Suga his card very briefly but one glance at the card sent him into a fit of laughter.

“You need to play that! You NEED to play that card, Hinata.” Suga told him, taking the card from Hinata’s hand and setting it on the table.

Daichi gave the two a strange look, but took the cards into his hands.

_Balls._

_Hot lettuce._

_My ugly face and bad personality._

_An aborted fetus singing Happy Birthday to itself._

Daichi stopped reading the last two cards, setting the last card onto the table, “This one, the fetus. I love it.” Daichi laughed, his shoulders shaking violently and tears rolling down his cheeks. Hinata smiled and took his black card, giving Suga a high five in the process.

“And I think with that, we should be done for the night.” Asahi smiled, looking up at the boy that was trying to stay away. Nishinoya was leaning back against the couch, rubbing his eyes and raking hands through his hair. Asahi stood up, walking around and leaning down to ruffle Nishinoya’s hair.

“Asahi, stop.” Nishinoya pouted, trying to get away from his hands.

“C’mon Yuu, let’s get you to bed.” Asahi smiled softly, finally getting the smaller boy up and on track to his room.

The two disappeared into a room down the hall, leaving the others in silence. Suga sighed, finishing his wine and getting up, pulling Daichi along with him.

“We are gonna head out, thank you for having us, Hinata, Kageyama.” Daichi dipped his head politely, as well as to Kuroo. The two had a soft moment of goodbyes and promises to keep in touch.

Yaku stretched out on the floor, standing to follow Kuroo out of the apartment. Soon, sitting in the living room was Lev, Hinata, and Kageyama. Three twenty one year olds, all sitting in the same apartment plus a sleepy dog. Hinata was passed out on Kageyama’s arm, muttering about something in his sleep.

“You can take Suga’s room, he is moved out but he left his bed for the guest room.” Kageyama told Lev, standing up and taking Hinata into his arms, “You brought an extra pair of clothes, right?”

“Yeah, I have some. Thank you, Kageyama.” Lev smiled, padding to Suga’s old room. The house soon went silent except for the soft clicks of Dixie’s toenails against the hardwood floor as she followed Kageyama and Hinata to bed. The gang was back, this time with two new people in its midst.

\--------

“Asahi...Asahi are you awake?”

It was midnight, two hours after everything had calmed down. Nishinoya was wide awake, looking at the boy that was laying next to him sleeping peacefully. Asahi’s hair was out of his bun, fanned out onto the pillow he had his head resting on.

Nishinoya crawled back under the covers, resting his hands in the empty space between the two of them.

“Asahi.”

“Yeah?” Asahi answered groggily, moving a hand up to rub his eyes.

“Are you awake?”

“If I wasn’t awake, would I be talking to you right now?” Asahi answered, making Nishinoya smile.

“Just making sure.”

“Why?” Asahi asked, opening his eyes a little to look at the boy who was laying with him. Nishinoya closed the gap between them, pushing Asahi’s hair back and into a bun at the base of his neck. He nuzzled into Asahi’s neck, feeling Asahi’s arms go around his body softly.

“I was thinking...do you think pigeons have feelings?”

“Of course they do, they are animals after all. That’s like asking if Dixie loves the food Hinata gives her from the table.” Nishinoya giggled.

“What about chickens, do they get cold feet?”

“As in performance wise or temperature wise?”

“Temeperature wise!”

“Well, I think they don’t because they don’t have nerves in the bone and skin that make up their feet.”

“What is the weirdest thing you’ve ever smelled?”

“Whatever you put in the club room my second year. It was horrible but it did smell a little good at first.” Asahi was being completely honest.

“Yeah, that was probably the worst thing I’ve ever done to that club room.” Nishinoya laughed.

“Yeah, it wasn’t the best.”

“Okay okay okay, so if animals could talk, what species do you think would be the rudest?”

“Red pandas. Did you watch Kung Fu Panda? Master Shifu was kinda a dick.”

Nishinoya let out another giggle in his drunken state.

“Okay, what is a useless talent that you think you have?”

“Probably the fact I can tell what my heart rate is without looking at it.”

“Ooooh what is it now??”

“I think low seventies beats per minute.”

“Woah, how can you do that?”

“I get nervous.” Asahi shrugged.

“Woah, can you tell me mine?”

“Probably, but why do you want to know?”

“Cause! I wanna see!” Nishinoya laughed, taking Asahi’s hand and slipping it under his shirt and over his heart. The skin to skin contact made Asahi’s breathing hitch, his eyes going wide. Nishonoya’s skin was hot to Asahi’s cold fingertips, making Nishinoya let out a sigh. Asahi closed his eyes, trying to focus on Nishinoya’s heartbeat rather than his own.

“Maybe...high seventies? Low eighties?”

“Asahi, why are your hands so cold?” Nishinoya smiled, making Asahi open his eyes and look at him. Nishinoya’s deep brown eyes absorbed the moonlight hitting them, making his eyes three shades lighter than they originally were.

“I’m not sure. I usually run hot, this is weird.” Asahi joked, making Nishonoya let out a soft giggle. He took Asahi’s hand from his shirt and intertwined their fingers together, Nishinoya moving their hands behind him.

“And your hands are super soft too, why is that?”

“I’m not sure, Yuu.”

“Hmm, well do you know anything?” Nishinoya teased, making Asahi smile.

“I know that my heart rate is probably in the high nineties right now.”

“That’s kinda high...can I make it higher?” Nishinoya asked, moving his face closer to Asahi’s.

“Why would you do that? Want to give me a heart attack?” Asahi replied, getting cut short with a quick kiss pressed to the corner of his mouth.

Asahi was awake in an instant, looking at Nishinoya with wide eyes.

“Yuu, what?”

“What Asahi? Have you never been kissed before?” Nishinoya asked, making Asahi stutter.

“W-Well, n-no not really I--” Asahi was cut off by another small and quick kiss.

Nishinoya had sat up in bed, Asahi’s arm circling his hip. He shifted, making it so he could look down at Asahi with ease.

“You’re really pretty.” Nishinoya commented, brushing a few fly aways from Asahi’s temples, tucking them behind his ear. Asahi smiled weakly, taking Nishinoya’s hand in his.

“So are you. I mean, honestly, you are the cuter one of us.” Asahi was trying to avoid the compliment.

“Asahi, shut up. You know… I’ve liked you since high school. Like, when you started to let your hair grow? Yeah, that was the moment I was like oh fuck, he’s really cute and I see myself with him in the future. I mean, I knew we were gonna be friends but I never imagined that we would be having this moment right now. Like, little first year me would have never thought that three or four years later I would be laying in bed with Azumane Asahi, the boy that looked like a delinquent but is actually the biggest marshmallow known to this earth. I mean, seriously, I would have never thought that I would have fallen so fucking hard for you, Asahi. And I dare say that I think I’m head over heels in love with you.”

“Yuu, please stop playing with my feelings.” Asahi joked, only to be returned with a serious gaze.

“Asahi, I’m not joking. I’m in love with you.”

“I--Are you sure?” Asahi asked, taking Nishinoya’s hands into his. Nishinoya sunk back into bed, resting his head on the pillow to look at Asahi.

“Positive.”

“I can’t say that I don’t have feelings for you either--” Asahi started, stopping himself when he saw Nishinoya’s face light up. He ran a hand through Nishinoya’s hair, causing the smaller boy to press into his hand. “And I honestly think that there is something between us, no doubt., but if anything happens, I want to move slowly and not jump into things. You are too important for me to lose as a friend, so promise me, whatever happens from here will not destroy the basis of this relationship.”

“Promise!”

“Are you just saying that so you can kiss me again?” Asahi smiled, seeing Nishinoya’s face brighten.

“Uh, yeah, kinda! But I heard you, not letting a break up that will never happen destroy the four years of friendship!” Nishinoya smiled.

Asahi chuckled and wrapped his arms around Nishinoya, drawing him into his chest and Nishonoya responded by lacing his arms around Asahi’s side. He pulled back slightly, making Nishinoya crane his head up to see Asahi’s face. When Asahi made eye contact, he placed a soft kiss in between Nishinoya’s drawn eyebrows and down to his lips, placing soft and careful kisses on Nishinoya’s face.

“So, does this mean we are together? Like, boyfriends?” Nishinoya asked.

“Yeah, I guess that does mean that we are boyfriends. Is that okay?”

“Yep! Oh, what’s your heart rate, Asahi?”

“Too fucking high to process.” Asahi responded, planting a hasty kiss on Nishinoya’s forehead.

\-----

“If they don’t fucking stop giggling in two seconds, I am going to fucking punch them.” Hinata growled, his face hidden in Kageyama’s side.

“Just leave them be, they are probably having a moment. You wouldn’t want to disrupt a moment would you?” He asked, running his hands through Hinata’s unruly hair. This earned a groan from Hinata.

“I just wanna go to bed without having to listen to Nishinoya giggling.” He pouted, making Kageyama tilt his head up to kiss him quickly.

“I know, just ignore them.” Kageyama sighed, making Dixie sigh in response. She was curled up on Kageyama’s other side, her head resting on Kageyama’s stomach with Hinata’s hand on her head.

“But it’s kinda hard when they are being all lovey dovey and you know Nishinoya can’t control his volume.”

“The pot is calling the kettle black.”

“Oi, shut up, Kageyama.”

Snickering filled the room, along with the giggles from the next door over. Soon, silence filled the house, a sign that the day had come to a close.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :))))))

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you guys for reading! My plan is to shoot for about 26 chapters, but if any of you are coming from an in-person recommendation and know me personally, I can't plan worth shit and I am very very VERY inclined to add a stand alone chapter here and there to showcase the other children that don't get enough words in. 
> 
> (here’s the link if you actually wanna check out the facts that I used: https://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/godzilla.htm)


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